Albus Potter and the Healing Springs
by AlbusPotterSeries
Summary: Albus Potter lived a good life. His only worry was what house he would be sorted into at Hogwarts. That is however, until he finds out about a supposed legacy of his father that was kept from his whole life. To make matters worse, there are a series of attacks on students and creatures at Hogwarts. Albus and his friends, Ronnie and Alex, are left to solve the mystery at Hogwarts.
1. Hogwarts Express

Autumn seemed to have come quick that year. It couldn't be put into words how nerve-wrecking Albus Potter was feeling as he approached the wall, 9 and ¾, that led to the Hogwarts Express. The Hogwarts Express was a specially charmed, magical train located at Kings Cross that led to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Albus knew that his family had been wizards all his life. He was a short skinny boy with neat brown hair and beautiful green eyes that he had inherited from his paternal grandmother and father.

Lily Potter was his sister. His very annoying, very impatient sister. She had short ginger hair and a pale complexion.

James, their brother, gave Albus a headache every day for the past 11 years of his life; he was a year older and already attended Hogwarts. James was a very energetic and easy going boy with big brown eyes. He had very poor timing and a knack for interfering in other people's love lives. He was also known for having a great fondness for mischief and a superb sense of humor. He was in his second year of Hogwarts already.

The moment that Albus went aboard The Hogwarts Express, he noticed all the children staring unmistakably at his father, Harry Potter.

"Don't let it worry you," said Ron Weasley, his uncle. "It's me. I'm extremely famous."

Ron Weasley was his mother, Ginny Weasley's, older brother, and also one of his father's best friends. Hermione, whose previous surname was Granger prior to her and Ron's marriage, stood next to her spouse, smiling at her daughter.

"Go on, find a compartment before they all run out," said Hermione. "Rose, sit with James and Albus, and don't forget to send us an owl as soon as you arrive!"

Rose Weasley, Albus' cousin, was also attending her first year at Hogwarts this year. She had flaming red ginger hair that she had obviously inherited from her father. She was already wearing the school robes before it was necessary, greatly resembling her mother's promptness. Rose has also acquired her mother's intelligence and big, bushy hair which she ties in a ponytail for control. She had just escaped from the grasp that her younger brother, Hugo, had on her trying to make her stay.

Children were always talking about how extremely excited they were to attend Hogwarts but, when the time came, everyone shared anxiety concerning which house they would be sorted into once they arrived. Hogwarts had four houses named after the four founders: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione and all of the Potter-Weasley family were sorted into Gryffindor house. Gryffindors were known for their great courage and determination. Their rival house, Slytherin, was all about cunningness and dark arts. Ravenclaws were known for their great intelligence and Hufflepuffs were known for their loyalty and hard-work.

Albus hurried into the Hogwarts Express and found a compartment where he sat with James and Rose.

"Move! Get out of the way!" roared a nearby voice. "I will push you!"

Everyone in the compartment quickly stared at each other; Albus moved over to sit next to James as soon as he saw a silhouette on the compartment door. In came a short girl with long blonde hair, a pale freckled face, and a very messy bag with papers falling out of it.

"Is that seat taken?" asked the girl whilst pointing at the empty seat next to Rose. She shook her head uncomfortably and the girl sprang up next to her.

"Hi, my name is Veronica Cambridge. But call me Ronnie!" beamed the girl, clearly excited to meet new people, even if they were looking at her like she had three eyes.

"Wow, what a name you've got there." giggled James, obviously laughing at her, not with her.

It seemed quite obvious that right then and there, Ronnie didn't seem to take a fondness to James. She only talked to, or at least tried to talk to, Albus and Rose the whole way there. Once or twice, you could see Ronnie give James a dirty look.

"So what house are you hoping to get into?" asked Ronnie. Albus shied away and did not respond. Instead Rose said "I hope I get into Gryffindor; my father said he'd disinherit me if I didn't!"

It was, in fact, true. Ron had told her back at King's Cross that he'd be very disappointed if she didn't get into Gryffindor. Although he had said it in a joking fashion, Hermione hadn't been very happy about it. Rose indeed was afraid of what the outcome would be if she didn't get sorted into Gryffindor.

"Well, as for me, I am most certain that I'll be sorted into Ravenclaw," beamed Ronnie very proudly. "I have no doubt about it!"

"Typical." James remarked, only loud enough for Albus to be able to hear. It was known that he never really liked Ravenclaws that much because he believed they thought they were so great just for being smart. It's obvious that he believed his house, Gryffindor, was superior to all the rest.

Albus tried hard not to think about the idea of which house he'd be sorted into the whole train ride there; he was extremely nervous and couldn't even sit still due to his anxiety. What if he were to be sorted into Slytherin? What would his parents think!? He would be too embarrassed to write to them, but surely James would do so himself. Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, and neither would Hufflepuff but his heart was still set on Gryffindor.

As the trolley lady came around to sell Chocolate Frogs and Every-Flavor-Beans, Albus caught sight of a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair, a wicked smile and eyes that captivated him completely; she was breathtaking. Before he could even get up to greet her, she had already bought her sweets and walked away.

No one in the compartment noticed how happy Albus was after that brief encounter. All his fears of being sorted were no longer present in his mind. All he could think about was that girl, how he longed to talk to her, he wondered deeply what her name could be.

Not much time passed by when, suddenly, a boy with platinum blonde hair and a pale pointed nose burst through the compartment door. He seemed to be very afraid of something as he closed it as if something was chasing him. He was panting heavily.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked the boy. "Oh my goodness. Where are my manners? Hello, my name is Scorpius Malfoy."

At the sound of that name, Rose whispered to Albus about what her father had told her back at Kings Cross. "Make sure you beat that little Scorpius in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

Hermione, half stern and half amused had yelled at her husband, "Ron, for heaven's sake, don't try to turn them against each other before they've even started school!"

"You're right, sorry," had said Ron. However, unable to help himself he'd added "don't get too friendly with him, though, Rosie. Granddad Weasley would never forgive you if you married a pureblood."

Rose wasn't worried about that aspect though. She didn't find Scorpius attractive at the very least. Or, that is what she was trying to persuade herself to believe.

Scorpius didn't explain why he needed to leave wherever he came from so urgently, but there was a rip as clear as day light in his robe no one dared to ask about. The whole train ride there was filled with awkward conversation and mild laughter.

The train came to a steady halt. As Albus and James exited the train, the moonlight lit up the grounds. It was a warm and calm night some might call beautiful. Albus heard an odd voice; it was deep and one could hear it above all the pandemonium. Setting his eyes on the huge man holding up a lantern, he recognized Hagrid.

Hagrid was Albus' godfather. He was a friendly giant who had a personal relationship with his dad when he was at Hogwarts. They've been close ever since. He wasn't sure how he missed Hagrid in the first place as he was a man twice as large as a regular man and almost five times as wide. He had a bushy beard that merged with his hair that only left a little bit of room for a face.

"Firs' years this way! Firs' years!" called Hagrid, signalling all the children to a path different from where all the older children were headed.

"Hello Hagrid!" said Albus rather quietly so Hagrid barely heard him.

"Why 'ello there! 'Ow was the train ride?" beamed Hagrid as he almost pushed about five students trying to turn around to talk to Albus.

"It was fine, nothing unusual."

Albus then caught another glimpse of the girl with long black hair. He didn't get to talk to her on the train and, at the moment, she was in a crowd so it'd be impossible to talk to her now.

"Well, we better get to it then! Off ter the boats!" yelled Hagrid so that all the first years could hear him. "This way!"

It wasn't much longer until all the students reached an enormous lake. The moonlight reflected upon it beautifully and everyone was excited to see little boats on the shore, waiting for them to hop on. Every vessel could carry three students while Hagrid had one all to himself.

Albus got on a boat with Rose and a boy he didn't know. Not far behind was Ronnie, Scorpius, and a boy whom Albus did not recognize. He had straight black hair that was chin length and a bit of a tan complexion. He spoke to neither Ronnie nor Scorpius but kindly kept to himself the whole way there.

Walking up the steps to the Great Hall was hard for everyone. All the students were so anxious, they could barely move. They approached a halt when they reached the top of the staircase where there was an elderly woman wearing a green robe embroidered in gold, with a black witch's hat. It was none other than the Headmistress McGonagall.

"Gather around children, gather around. I am the Headmistress, Professor McGonagall and I will be leading you into the Great Hall to get your sorting started."

McGonagall went into the Great Hall and the first years waiting on the other side of the door could hear her voice as she began the ceremony by letting everyone there know that the first years had arrived. She then came through the doors and announced to everyone that it was time to go inside and get sorted.

Entering the Great Hall for the first time was truly something you just could not forget. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside; the stars gleamed beautifully along with the floating candles scattered all around the hall. There were four long vertical tables on which sat the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Slytherins. At the end of the hall was one last long horizontal table which sat all the teachers; a big throne-like chair in the middle obviously belonged to the Headmistress.

When all the children got to the end of the hall where they would be sorted, they gathered around an empty stool. No one outside of Hogwarts knew what the sorting would be like. Older brothers and sisters of new comers would always lie and say they had to fight dragons, ogres, and even each other. All the invented rumors that flew around made the sorting ceremony more frightening for all the first years.

But not Albus. Albus' father had told him long ago how the sorting took place, after James convinced Albus that it was fighting with a dragon. Students would have to sit on the stool and McGonagall would place an enchanted hat on their heads. Beforehand, the hat would sing a song in front of the entire school and then start to decide which house each student wearing it would be sorted into.

When McGonagall walked to the front of the crowd with an old raggedy hat, everyone was clearly confused. All except Albus and one other boy, who happened to be the shy boy he'd seen on the boat earlier.

"Really interesting how the sorting hat works, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." he said to a boy next to him. The young lad also had longish hair like him except it was a really dark brown. He didn't seem too interested but did answer as they whispered a little more. Albus wondered why he spoke to him and not Ronnie or Scorpius.

Right before the sorting began, he started looking around for his brother, James, and found him almost instantly since he was standing up, laughing and giving him two thumbs up along with his friend, Rick Thompson.

McGonagall set the raggedy hat on the empty stool and a rip tore at the hat's brim. The sorting hat began to sing:

"Many, many years ago

Back when I was new

Four great wizards gave me their brains

Just before they were through

The great idea of Gryffindor

Saved the school from breaking down

As I could sort and decide for them

Even if they weren't around

Everyone that's brave at heart

Belongs in Gryffindor after all

If intelligence was your strength

Then you belong in Ravenclaw

For Hufflepuff you'd need

Trust and love to get in

But if you're all about cunningness

Then you belong in Slytherin

All houses work

In perfect harmony

If you don't know where you belong

Right now you shall see

And even if you set your heart

To a certain house

Your true path, the real you

I, The Sorting Hat shall announce"

Just as The Sorting Hat finished singing, the whole great hall broke into applause. After McGonagall hushed the students down, she began to call names from a long piece of parchment.

"Abel, Kara."

The sorting hat quickly decided to place her in, "RAVENCLAW!"

"Abel, Laura."

The girl was the twin of the first girl called, and she was also sorted into "RAVENCLAW!"

The twins were greeted warmly with applause from the Ravenclaw table. Albus was looking as nervous as ever. He really hoped to get into Gryffindor. It was his biggest desire right now. He noticed his cousin, Rose, also fidgeting around nervously. He really hoped that they'd go into the same house.

"Cambridge, Veronica."

Ronnie then stepped up to the stool very confidently. On the train, she was gloating about how sure she was going to get into Ravenclaw. The hat then opened the tear in its brim and called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ronnie's heart seemed to drop. She got off the stool very unamused and almost looked like she was on the verge of tears even though the whole Gryffindor table was clapping for her. If only Ronnie knew how envious Albus and Rose were right now, having been sorted into the house of their dreams. Then a girl named Pagan Cowell was sorted into Hufflepuff. Applause broke out from the Hufflepuff table as she walked over to it very happily.

"Greenfield, Alex."

The boy with the black hair stepped up the state quite fearfully, but it was expected. He closed his eyes tight until the Sorting hat called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He half-ran to the Gryffindor table in glee as they applauded loudly.

A few boys were sorted into Slytherin and one girl into Hufflepuff. Then McGonagall called, with a slight look of disgust in her face,

"Lestrange, Bella."

Albus opened his eyes widely as she walked over to the stool. It was the girl that he saw on the train! He had finally learned her name, and it was beautiful. Her long black hair was barely touched by the hat when the sorting hat called out,

"SLYTHERIN!"

Albus wasn't sure what to think; wasn't everyone from Slytherin bad? But that couldn't be the case; the times have changed. Not everyone in Slytherin could be bad, could they? When Bella glanced at Albus, her eyes gleamed, and a locket she was wearing shined brightly in his eyes. He suddenly felt a warm feeling inside that he'd never felt before. He wished that she got into Gryffindor, he really wanted to see a lot more of her. Meanwhile, Scorpius Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin.

His mind went blank almost instantly as McGonagall called out "Potter, Albus" with a smile that seemed as though she was trying her best to hide it.

Albus paced towards the hat as if he were counting his steps. This seemed to have been the longest walk he'd taken in his life, even if it was only a few feet. He sat on the stool slowly and McGonagall placed the hat on him.

There was silence, the loudest silence Albus has ever heard. It drove him mad, he felt like he was sitting there for hours; but it had only been a minute. In that minute he heard the hat whisper to itself, "You're not a dumb boy. No, not at all. Maybe Ravenclaw is where you belong," and "Slytherin could do you well, as it could have to your father." Albus heard a remark from the hat every few seconds and watched as everyone in the Great Hall waited for the response from the hat. The last thing the hat whispered was, "There's a lot buried within you, but when you let it all out, you shall be great." He then called out,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus' whole mood changed. Everything was great. He wasn't nervous anymore, but felt the happiest he had in the past week, worrying about this very moment. As he passed by Rose, he beamed at her and she gave him a quick hug until he was greeted by the Gryffindor's applause and also a huge hug from James.

David Smith was sorted into Ravenclaw, Thomas Spearet into Slytherin and Jake Webster into Gryffindor. Then McGonagall called out,

"Weasley, Rose."

As she hurried up to the hat, partially just to get it over with, she flashed an uneasy smile in Albus' general direction. The hat started to say something, "Oh, another Weasley, you are definite-" but then it stopped. It seemed as though he looked further into her as he said "Wait. You are different. Brains, quite like your mother. Yes, I know where to put you."

"RAVENCLAW!"

Rose's face flushed into a bright red as she hopped off the stool and ambled over to the Ravenclaw table. She didn't look happy at all.

McGonagall then called for "Willingham, Jonathan". The boy who was next to Alex Greenfield was now walking up to the stool. Albus noticed that Alex was paying very close attention to this one, and looked a little disappointed when the sorting hat called out,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The boy was greeted warmly to the Hufflepuff table. McGonagall finally called for "York, Jane" and it didn't take much time until the sorting hat sorted her into "RAVENCLAW!"

She was the last one to be sorted, and all the students were now seated. McGonagall gave a quick speech that she ended by magically having all the plates appear with food. Everyone quickly began to eat and Albus was beyond ecstatic. His cousin, Rose, didn't seem very content at the Ravenclaw table, though, which was the only downside to the bliss he felt. He looked around the hall and saw Jonathan with Pagan at the Hufflepuff table; Rose was with Laura, Kara and Jane at the Ravenclaw table. Last but not least, he saw Bella sitting with Scorpius at the Slytherin table. She was tugging him by his robe. It wasn't hard to tell that he was quite frightened. Albus assumed he must have done something wrong to annoy her. There wasn't any other reasonable explanation! Why would she hurt him otherwise? Yes, it was obviously his fault. She wouldn't hurt an elf; she's an angel.


	2. The Missing Professor

Albus stopped looking around and paid more attention to who was sitting with him. To his left was his brother, James, and to his right was Ronnie. Across from him sat the timid Alex.

"Quite strange how all this food just appeared in everyone's plates. I shall read on how this is all done later," muttered Alex to himself.

"I don't really care. I'm just hungry!" giggled Ronnie.

The two of them seemed very much like opposites, but continued the conversation. Ronnie introduced Alex to Albus. They had quite a friendly conversation that really broke the ice between them. James didn't add anything, though. He was very aggravated about the fact that Ronnie was in Gryffindor. Add that to how she didn't even appreciate it.

Everyone was finished with their plates and, about half an hour later, McGonagall gave everyone a kind farewell and the plates were all cleared. She then added "The head of houses are Professor Flitwick for Ravenclaw, Professor Slughorn for Slytherin, Professor Churchill for Hufflepuff, and Professor Longbottom for Gryffindor. Also, note that the Professor Longbottom is the Deputy Headmaster as well."

All in the Great Hall started clapping as the four teachers stood. The most nervous looking one was the average height man with short grey hair.

"Why is Professor Slughorn shaking for? Getting too old I think," said James out loud, and he and Rick laughed.

"Prefects, please escort your houses to your common rooms. Term will start tomorrow and you will receive your class schedules tomorrow morning at breakfast. That will be all."

Three boys and three girls from each house table stood up. They were the three oldest in the age groups. The oldest from the Gryffindor table yelled something out that Albus and his friends couldn't quite hear but, as they saw most of the table walking away, they followed.

They were marching up a staircase and the leading boy and girl began to introduce themselves.

"Hello. My name is Taylor Jones and I am one of the Gryffindor prefects," said the really tall boy with spiked up blonde hair. He had a few freckles and was obviously fond of the girl with him as he said "and this is my friend, also a prefect, Tracy Edwards."

"Hello, everyone. I'm very pleased to meet you all. As prefects, Taylor and I will be in charge of making sure that the Gryffindors are at their best all year. There are six prefects all together, the other four being Miller, Richards, Anderson, and Rogers. All of us will be happy to help you in anything you need."

They climbed up some more flights of stairs and strode along a few more corridors until they reached a painting of a rather large woman. "Ahh, here we are. This is the entrance to our common room," said Tracy.

All of the Gryffindors stopped in front of a painting of a fat lady. It was a very large painting. Everyone was eager to get inside now, but there was only one problem. The Fat Lady wasn't even awake.

"Excuse her – er – this doesn't usually happen," Taylor grumbled in a disbelieving tone. "Wake up! Wake up!"

"Huh – what ?!" screamed the fat lady. "Was it absolutely necessary for you to interrupt my sleep? Say the password so I can get back to it!"

"Trevor Toad."

"Alright, you may enter."

The painting swung open and revealed a large hole in which the prefects climbed into first, followed by everyone else. They shuffled into a room full of comfortable armchairs, several tables and a big bulletin board on which school notices would be. A big welcome poster was stretched across the space greeting the students. There were two staircases that lead to towers which the prefects explained were the dormitories. Boys on the right; girls on the left.

"Well, I'm too tired to stay up so I'll just see you guys whenever," said Ronnie while taking her sweet old time to yawn. She ran up the stairs to the right and, noticing she had gone the wrong way, paused at the top before running back down to go up the left one.

"Poor girl. She's so tired she can hardly think straight," said Alex, quite amused by Ronnie's odd, but pleasant character. "I think I'll go upstairs and start unpacking. It's been a long day getting here. Goodnight!"

Most of the Gryffindors were still in the common room talking, getting to know each other, or catching up and sharing their summer stories. It all depended on what year you were in. Albus didn't spend much time in the common room though. From all that he ate, he was feeling very sleepy.

He dragged himself upstairs after sending an Owl with his brother to his parents. He had to find the door that stated "First Years". He stepped inside and saw Alex sitting on his bed looking angrily at his cell phone.

"I don't even know why I brought this thing. I should have remembered. _Electronic devices don't work in Hogwarts!_" he screamed out to himself in frustration.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't notice you were there, Albus. Hang on!" he yelled. "I don't remember your full name. My name is Alex Greenfield." He held out a hand to shake and Albus shook back awkwardly.

"It's Potter. Hey, which bed do you think I should-"

"_Potter_? As in, _Harry_ Potter?!"

"Yes - er – how do you know my dad?"

"How do I know him?! How wouldn't I?! That's the real question!"

"I get he's an Auror and all but it's not like he's famous or anything."

"Are you telling me that you have no idea of your father's legacy?! Who else, other than your father, could have defeated You-Know-Who?!"

"Who do I know? What?! Listen, I have no idea what you're talking about-"

"Your father is on a Chocolate Frog Card, for crying out loud! And you're telling me that you don't know about him being famous? He's one of the greatest wizards to have ever lived, especially considering all the accomplishments he's made at such a young age!"

"I – I don't – You're lying! My father is just an Auror. Never in my life has anyone told me anything about this."

"Your father is in nearly every Wizard History book ever, that's been revised that is. How is it that you have no idea about all this?" inquired Alex.

Then suddenly, Taylor walked in and yelled "Lights out! Goodnight." Alex hurried into bed not wanting to get into any trouble and Albus just stood there with a puzzled look on his face. What could this all be about? Why does this boy, who he just met, supposedly know so much more about his father than he did? He was certainly lying; all of this was impossible. Albus went to sleep with deep thoughts in his mind, but he didn't bring up the topic the next morning.

It seemed as though the next morning couldn't have come quick enough for the students at Hogwarts. Everyone was excited to begin their magical studies this year, especially the first years. Albus and Ronnie walked to the Great Hall together. Ronnie suggested bringing Alex so he wouldn't be so lonely, but Albus wasn't very fond of the idea. He wasn't mad at Alex; he just didn't appreciate how he thought he knew so much more than he did about his own father! When they got to the Great Hall, the deputy headmaster and head of Gryffindor, Neville, came around and handed out the schedules to everyone at the Gryffindor table.

Albus was waiting to see if he got a reply from his parents, since he asked his brother, James, to help him send them a letter by owl last night. He told his parents about how he got into Gryffindor. Now, however, he wished he'd have sent it the next day so he could have added on what Alex said about his father, Harry's 'legacy' or so he said. It was too late now but the school owl he used would probably let him send another one once their reply arrived.

Albus really wanted his own owl, but he knew that he wasn't good with animals. No letter came to him so he focused on his schedule.

"So we have Potions with Professor Slughorn first today. That sounds fun!" beamed Alex. "After that we take Transfiguration with Professor Churchill."

"Potions sounds too hard! I really want to learn how to fly already!" cried Ronnie loud enough for others to hear and snicker at her. "When do we even have flying?" she inquired and, after checking her schedule, exclaimed "What?! We don't even have it today!"

"Ronnie, it's okay, I'm sort of glad we don't have it today," said Albus uncomfortably.

Ronnie gave him a weird look and he wondered why she'd be so surprised that he wasn't good at flying.

"And after transfiguration, we have History of Magic. Well I'm sure to get an excellent grade in that one as I've already read all the required books," gloated Alex until he saw Albus and Ronnie's annoyed faces. "But I'm sure there's always room to learn more," he tagged on quickly, so as to avoid gaining the reputation of the know-it-all on the first day of classes.

The trio walked together to their first class, Potions, which was strange considering Albus and Alex weren't exactly on good terms.

Upon reaching the classroom, they were startled to see that Professor Slughorn wasn't there. The whole class was waiting outside, mumbling, until Professor Neville Longbottom came by and escorted everyone back to the Great Hall.

"Well that was certainly a waste of time, wasn't it? I mean they could have just announced that the teacher wasn't here," said Alex.

"Well maybe it was unexpected. It's embarrassing though; to be gone on the first day," tittered Ronnie.

"Slughorn better have a good excuse because McGonagall will not be too happy about this," Albus added to the conversation.

"I'm sure he has already informed McGonagall of his absence. Just because you guys don't know where he is doesn't mean she doesn't," remarked Alex.

"It doesn't make any sense, though. He was at the ceremony yesterday, and now he's gone?" added Albus.

The trio spent the rest of the Potions class getting to know each other a bit more. Had Slughorn been here, they would have had Potions with the Ravenclaws, so Albus got to talk to Rose and see how she was doing. Fortunately, she told Albus about how her parents were thrilled that she was the first Ravenclaw in the family and that they were proud of her no matter what house she was in. Her father remarked, however, that so long as she wasn't in Slytherin, they would not disinherit her. She also told Albus about how she made friends with the twins, Laura and Kara Abel, and another fellow Ravenclaw, Jane York.

Ronnie was trying on Rose's Ravenclaw tie and Rose tried on Ronnie's Gryffindor tie. Although the two desperately wanted to be in each other's houses, they both had to admit that they were pretty satisfied with where they were sorted; the twins and Jane made Rose comfortable, and Albus and Alex made Ronnie comfortable in Gryffindor, too.

The class time had gone by and Alex was absolutely infuriated that he hadn't learned anything new yet. He was very excited to get to Transfiguration before his mind melted due to the lack of learning. When they got to class, they were accompanied by the Slytherins. At the front of the pack was Bella Lestrange along with Scorpius Malfoy and two Slytherin girls, both with short, extremely pale blonde hair.

"Might as well be white," commented Ronnie.

Scorpius tried to stray away at least twice before they entered the class but Bella had him on a tight grip; it's like she had him on a leash.

When they entered the classroom, it was lit by four humongous stained glass windows on the right side. It was a fairly big classroom and cages were lined amongst the shelves on which several books that seemed to be really worn out perched. Professor Churchill peaked out from under the desk at the front of the classroom.

"Welcome Class, I am Professor Churchill and I will be teaching you Transfiguration this year. I assume that you all came fully prepared today. Please open your books and we will dive right into lesson one."

Albus heard but didn't listen to what Churchill was saying. He was too busy gazing at Bella. She obviously noticed that he was staring at her since she started to fix her hair. Half of the lesson had already passed and all he had learned was that Bella likes to hold her hair at her ears when she writes on her parchment.

"What are you doing? You haven't got anything done," whispered Ronnie.

This was what brought Albus back to reality. Everyone around him had already noted down lists of useful tips to use when attempting to transfigure something. Alex seemed to have written everything in excruciating detail.

Professor Churchill was walking around looking at everyone's lists and it wasn't very long until he got to Albus. Albus quickly copied the first two tips that Ronnie wrote, since Alex wouldn't let him copy his nor did Albus really want to, but Professor Churchill came right before Albus started jotting down the third note.

"Mr. Potter, may I ask why you haven't gotten much done?" said Professor Churchill before being distracted by Alex's paper. "Oh Mr. Greenfield! Well done! Five points will be awarded to Gryffindor!"

All the Gryffindors in the room clapped, as these were the first points they have earned this year. Even some Slytherins clapped out of sheer mockery, although most just sneered. Albus was lucky he got a quick save from Alex sitting next to him. Professor Churchill completely forgot about Albus' poor work. He then returned to the board and began writing his own list of tips which he wanted everyone to copy down.

Albus really wanted to talk to Bella. He knew he couldn't talk to her right now, but maybe he could send a note! Yes, that was it, a note. But how would he get a note to her in the middle of class? All the Slytherins on her side of the room didn't look very friendly and will most probably be very reluctant to pass the note all the way to her. Plus, he didn't want any of the boys to get jealous because they all obviously liked her, too. Who wouldn't?

He could use magic. He's a wizard! He wrote her a note saying, "Hi, what's your name? - Albus". He asked Alex for a levitating charm and he told him about 'Wingardium Leviosa'. Albus attempted but failed to get the note to levitate, it didn't even raise an inch until Alex got irritated.

"Ugh, just let me do it. Wingardium Leviosa!" The note then travelled maybe half way across the room until Professor Churchill turned back around to openly talk to the class. Very hastily, Alex whispered "Incendio" and the note quickly burned and turned to ashes.

"What was that?" questioned Professor Churchill as he looked around, confused.

"Nothing! Professor, please continue with these transfiguration tips. They're completely fascinating and I must learn all of your tips before the class is over!" beamed Alex.

"Ah, right you are, Mr. Greenfield. Very well then, tip number 24. Remember to keep your wand directly pointed at the object you are trying to transfigure. Keep it very steady the entire time."

The trio exited the classroom together after filling their heads with information. All except Albus, who didn't pay attention three fourths of the time. He much preferred to drool over Bella. He waited for her to come out of the class; maybe he'd get a chance to talk to her now since he couldn't send her that note. She was coming out with Scorpius and two girls he still couldn't name, but he knew they were her friends. She saw him, and came at him swiftly. She didn't look happy.

"What were you trying to do? I do not wish to get in trouble on the first day!" sneered Bella.

"I just wanted to t-talk. I'm A-Alb-b-" stuttered Albus, very frightened.

"His name is Albus Potter. He doesn't seem to have his head straight because he can't even speak, and even worse, he's trying to talk to a git like you," interrupted Ronnie angrily.

"Alright, then? Bye Potter. See you tomorrow. And goodbye to your little friend, too. She probably doesn't even have a brain in that stupid little blonde head of hers," Bella hissed.

She walked away and Albus began to blush again. This time, Ronnie slapped him, not very hard, yelling "SNAP OUT OF IT!" at the top of her lungs. Alex didn't say anything but merely watched as the two bickered to all the way to their History of Magic class.

"Why would you do that? Making me seem like an idiot."

"Well maybe it's because you ARE an idiot, or at least in front of her you are. I don't know why though. She isn't very pretty, and she's so disgusting, honestly."

"Disgusting? She's the prettiest girl I've seen at this school! The nicest as well."

"Nice? Not only was she just mean to you, but she gives everyone a vulgar face as if she just smelt something horrible! I don't understand why guys fall for the worst girls," Ronnie exclaimed bitterly.

The fight broke off when they arrived at their History of Magic class. The class was only occupied by Gryffindors so it was different from other classes. On top of that, the teacher for this class, Professor Binns, was a ghost.

"I heard that he was caught in a fire in the teachers' lounge and died. But, he never noticed that he died; he just went to teach his classes without noticing he had left his body behind one day! How weird is that? It'd be pretty sad if they sacked him, since he's a ghost and all. He seems like a cool teacher to me," said Ronnie as they got to their seats. She had obviously forgotten about the little spat she had had with Albus just a few minutes ago.

If the rumor of Binns was true, that is pretty sad, not to mention bizarre. How could someone not notice they were a ghost? Albus wasn't sure he'd ever want to find out so he quickly stopped thinking about it.

This class seemed to go by a lot slower than Transfiguration did. Ronnie was dead wrong about Binns seeming like a cool teacher. He was the least enthusiastic person, or more precisely, ghost, that Albus had ever met. After what seemed to be hours and hours of perpetual boredom, they were finally free when the class was dismissed.

"What do you guys want to do? We haven't got any homework so that pretty much opens my entire afternoon," declared Alex as they all strolled to the Great Hall for some lunch.

The Great Hall was completely full again, as it was on the welcoming feast on the night of their arrival. The trio sat at the Gryffindor table and James asked Albus how his classes went. Albus couldn't seem less interested in talking about the two most boring classes he's ever had in his life. Then, McGonagall stepped up to her podium and the whole Great Hall hushed.

"I would like to congratulate you all upon completing your first day. All the teachers have informed me on how well you all did. But I would also like to make an announcement. Due to unknown reasons, one of our teachers is missing. The Potions master, Professor Slughorn, was last seen the previous night. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of our beloved teacher, please inform me at once. I would also like to warn the children and remind you all to keep your guard up, since we do not know what happened to him. It would be necessary to take some precautions. Be safe."

"So she _doesn't_ know what happened to him! Hah! Alex! In your face!" mocked Ronnie.

"You're happy about this? Are you really? Unbelievable. Our potions teacher is missing and all you care about is whether or not you were right about whether she had sufficient information?!" yelled Alex.

"Hey, calm down, this doesn't have anything to do with us. Let's just let her do her job and we need to get to eating. I'm starving!" said Albus.

The three of them ate their lunch and went up to the common room. They talked for the rest of the day. Once or twice did the mention of Professor Slughorn come up but Albus wasn't interested. He didn't know why his friends wanted so badly to meddle into a situation that didn't concern them.


	3. Failed Attempts

"Please explain why you won't try out with me!" demanded Ronnie.

The trio was in the Great Hall enjoying a warm breakfast when Ronnie received a flier from Neville about Quidditch tryouts. Although it was uncommon for a first year to make it into the team, they received them anyways. Ronnie was extremely excited about the tryouts, unlike her two friends, Albus and Alex.

"No way! First years never get on the team! Why would I wanna embarrass myself like that?!" retorted Alex.

"For fun! Duh!" replied Ronnie, exasperated with Alex's boring approach to life. "I mean, come on! It's not like you're trying to impress anyone! Or are you?" she asked with a sly grin, as if to elicit certain information out of him.

"No! No! Of course not!" answered Alex with just a tad more enthusiasm than the average person.

It was clear from Ronnie's expression that she didn't buy Alex's story, but, much too excited to get on with the day, she paid no attention to it and turned to Albus, who was busy catching an envelope an owl brought him. Alex, finished with his breakfast, made his way up to the common room, probably to get ahead on some homework before Professor Belikov even assigned any.

"Albus, you HAVE to try out for Quidditch!" said Ronnie, before Albus could even begin opening the envelope.

"Why do I HAVE to try out?" he queried.

"Because! Your dad has taught you, hasn't he? I mean, he was a Quidditch legend and all," she explained.

"What? My dad? My dad's just an Auror!" he stated ludicrously. "I mean, yeah, he can fly really well, but he's never mentioned anything about being a legend! Why does everyone think they know my dad better than me?!"

Albus had enough. He got up from the table and stormed out of the Great Hall.

"Well that was stupid. He's got quite an attitude" was the last thing Albus heard from Ronnie's lips; she didn't sound happy.

As he meandered up the staircase, he was raging with fury. How could everyone think they knew more about his dad than his own son? Unable to find an answer to the conflict alone, he decided to consult James. Albus wasn't very fond of having to talk to his prankster of a brother but this was important. Unfortunately, this would mean that he would have to return to the Great Hall and face Ronnie.

_Time to swallow my pride, I guess_, thought Albus bitterly.

By this point, however, he had already crawled through the portrait hole and entered the common room. He decided to open the letter he received just a few minutes prior. He began reading out loud quietly, knowing that Alex was only a few feet away.

"Dear Albus,

Your mother and I are thrilled about your sorting into Gryffindor! We couldn't be more proud. We also noticed that Rose was quite frightened to tell Ron and Hermione about her sorting into Ravenclaw. Be nice and make her feel at home; there is no reason why she still isn't a part of our family and she could use the support. I'd tell James to do the same, but he'd probably just rub it in her face. We can't wait to see you both at Christmas. Lily says she misses you, (can you believe it?) and tell your brother to behave!

Lots of love, your parents."

The letter was pretty short, but Albus had to admit that he liked it; he couldn't stand when his mother would write three entire rolls of parchment just about the day she spent with his aunt Hermione. Good thing his father wrote this one. Alex seemed to have listened to the entire thing. He looked pleased by the support his parents gave Albus.

"It's wonderful that your parents are thrilled! By the way, who is Lily? And you have a brother here?" he asked, intrigued about his personal life. Albus was not annoyed. He knew Alex was only asking because they were good friends, not because he wanted to poke his nose in other people's business.

"Yeah I'm glad…" said Albus very indifferently. He was still thinking about everything Alex said about his father being a legacy. Right now was the perfect moment to bring up the multitude of questions Albus had, but he chose to save that inquiry for later and speak to James first. "Oh and Lily is my younger sister; she's two years younger than me. My older brother James is here, too; he's a second year. You haven't seen him around?" he asked.

"James… James… Oh! I think I have – Wait is he that boy who is constantly picking on other first years? I saw him try to hex Ronnie but fortunately it didn't work." Albus tried imagining that incident and quietly giggled to himself. Just the idea of Ronnie showing up James made him like Ronnie even more.

"Yeah, that's him," he confirmed, still quietly giggling, the reason unbeknownst to Alex. He paid no mind to it; Albus was always a curious old chap.

Alex and Albus said their goodbyes as the former headed for the library and the latter for the common room, revisiting the dreadful thought of having to face Ronnie in the Great Hall. _Maybe she won't be that mad_, he thought. Or rather, hoped.

Actually, now that the thought occurred to him, he would kill two birds with one stone and try to talk to Bella. The thought lightened his mood as he wandered down the staircase. As he stepped into the Great Hall, he quickly spotted Ronnie with his back to him. He desperately prayed that she wouldn't turn around; he was trying to postpone that lecture as long as possible.

Albus looked down the table and saw his brother, jinxing a Slytherin's food to miss his mouth every time he would bite it, while James friends roared with laughter. It was astounding that the laughter itself wasn't enough to catch McGonagall's attention.

Stealthily, Albus passed Ronnie and sat obscurely between two rather burly Gryffindors that happened to be James' friends.

"Having love troubles already, little brother?" snickered James, clearly having witnessed the row between his brother and the blonde young woman.

"Shut up," spat Albus, clearly annoyed at his brother's childish teasing. Albus' retort made James' friends laugh. "James, was dad a Quidditch legend?"

"Well, of course! I had to have gotten my talent from somewhere!" exclaimed James. This was true, obnoxious as he was, and quite unpleasant company, James was an outstanding Quidditch player. He got his spot on the team last year fair and square; the older tryouts were furious in fact. If it had not been for some git twenty six years ago, James would have been the only first year on a team in over a century.

"Well you could have gotten it from mum, you conceited prat. She's an amazing flier as well," sneered Albus; he hated when his brother acted like the epitome of the perfect boy. "How come we never even talk about dad at home?"

"What's there to talk about? He's an Auror, he's dad, and he's Harry Potter," stated James, as if there's nothing special. Rick Thompson, however, who had just stuffed his face with another treat, began choking on the treacle tart.

"What?! James! You never told me your dad was THE Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. James and Albus looked ludicrously at each other.

_Why had Rick reacted that way? _Albus both thought.

"What's so special about my dad?" asked James.

"I don't know exactly, but I've heard my mum and dad talk about him like he's a super hero!" declared Rick. "Don't you know yourselves?"

It was clear from the look on their faces that neither James nor Albus had any idea what Rick was referring to. It was during this moment that Albus made it his mission to investigate this story. And he will start at the walking library himself: Alex.

Alex could wait, though. Right now, Albus had the perfect opportunity to talk to Bella. She was just finishing breakfast, silently with two girls, and Scorpius. Albus proceeded to do what most Gryffindors would never even consider: sitting with the Slytherins. As soon as he sat down at the table, the zeitgeist was barely tangible. The Slytherins were giving Albus a look that would scare any child. Any child that wasn't in love, that is, like Albus. Bella, noticing the looks she was getting from her acquaintances and friends, turned to look at Albus as well.

_If looks could kill_, he thought.

He was not discouraged, however. Even when surprised, she looked absolutely beautiful. Beauty emanated from her, and it was obvious that all the other malicious Slytherin girls were just jealous.

"Who are you?" she asked feigning ignorance; Albus was much too blinded by love to notice the disgust in her voice.

"I'm Albus. Albus Potter. We talked yesterday," he responded, very enthusiastic by the fact that she had even acknowledged his presence.

"Oh yeah. Well, Potter," spat Bella, even more repulsed by the fact that the legendary Harry Potter's son was trying to talk to her. "What do you want?"

"Just to talk," pronounced Albus brightly. "How was your first day?"

Bella threw another disgusted look. "Fine." She turned to her right, trying to spark up a conversation with anyone but the green-eyed wonder next to her. She started to talk to the pale blonde girls she was always with whose names were Isabella Hunt and Patricia Knight, from what Albus heard.

"How are you liking Slytherin? I, for one think the sorting hat made a mistake," suggested Albus, still in a pleasant mood.

Isabella and Patricia were now shrieking with laughter. It even beat the laughter of Rick and James. Bella then whispered to Albus, "Do you, now? I, personally, like Slytherin. It's not infested with Mudbloods."

Albus was taught to never speak to anyone who openly declared pure-blood superiority. With Bella, though, it was clear that she was just misguided and needed some help at getting the right idea that true wizardry had nothing to do with one's parents.

"Now, that's not the right idea, Bella."

Bella… the name rolled off his tongue so perfectly. Albus loved it. Bella hated it. Meanwhile, he noticed that Scorpius slowly left while Bella was too infuriated to notice.

If the looks Bella was giving Albus before could kill him, the look she gave him now could kill a thousand others.

"Listen, Potter, I have no interest in 'talking' to you. Go brag about your legendary father to some nitwit Gryffindors. I don't want to hear about you or your brother or anyone else in your sanctimonious house filled with your disgusting Mudbloods! Look! Look at your brother! He's wondering what you're doing over here! So just leave! Get out of my sight!" and with that, she stormed out of the Great Hall along with Isabella and Patricia, leaving Albus as confused as ever.

Even she called his dad legendary.


	4. Falling Off Broomsticks

"Where have you been?" demanded Ronnie as she saw Albus crawl through the portrait hole.

Albus took a good look around the common room and saw everyone staring at him and Ronnie. It wasn't like first years to gather a lot of attention and make a fuss in front of everyone so this was odd. Albus looked at Ronnie and he could undoubtedly see pure anger written all over her face. Even the usually calm fire in the common room was blazing angry and was perfectly reflecting from Ronnie's eyes.

"I was-" Albus couldn't even finish his sentence. Bella's unexpected outburst had upset him greatly.

"Because I heard you were talking to that Slytherin girl," she hissed, needing no more introduction to scream at him; Slytherins always treated Ronnie worse than everyone else and she took a particular dislike in Bella.

"If you mean Bella, yes, I was talking to her," remarked Albus, eyes reduced to slits. He hated that no one could see her for the angel she was.

"Listen to how you caress her name," Ronnie barked. "As if you're blind to her evil!"

"What evil?! Maybe if you stopped judging her from what people tell you, you'd be able to see her true kindness!" exclaimed Albus. His tone was rising now and he was definitely angry. Ronnie tried a different approach.

"Albus," Ronnie started clearly noting that aggression was not getting through to him. "Have you seen how she treats her own friends? Scorpius showed up with a black eye this morning! And he was trying to avoid her all day! He was terrified!"

"Well, he brought that upon himself," he said blatantly. He had no sympathy for anyone, especially a Slytherin that was making false accusations on Bella.

"Oh, really? Fine. Have it your way!" Ronnie said, now building up her rage. "But for your information, don't think I didn't hear her screaming at you to leave her alone."

"You're just jealous because no one wants to talk to you! No one! You hardly have any friends! If it wasn't for me and Alex, you'd be all alone! You're just weird!" yelled Albus, unable to control the words rolling off his tongue before he could process them.

Ronnie lost her cool. She was three seconds away from punching Albus herself. However, she settled for the nastiest look she could manage and briskly turned away from him. Albus almost instantly regretted his words, but he knew that he couldn't try to talk to her again right after this argument.

_Ronnie doesn't like being approached when she's cross anyways, _he thought, comforting himself. And besides, he needed to talk to Alex.

Albus took one look around the common room again and realized that Alex wasn't there. He must be in the library. _Great_, he thought, _more walking_. Too many times did he walk all around this castle today, and he was getting sick of it.

Before he set out on that expedition, however, he decided to go upstairs and write a letter to mum and dad. Maybe it will relieve some stress. Ignoring the whispers of his fellow Griffindor kin, he made his way up to his trunk and took out a quill, a bottle of ink, and parchment. He smoothed the parchment on his four-poster and looked at it for a few minutes before he began to write.

What was he going say? He didn't want to mention the fight with Ronnie or his parents would both think he was getting into trouble or something. He also had a fighting urge to ask his father about all the "hero" rumors. He hasn't been in Hogwarts for that long yet and he felt like the whole world was just talking about his dad. Noting that writing this letter seemed to have conveyed more anger rather than relieving it, he decided to start writing right away, before he began yelling at the paper too.

"Dear Mum and Dad,

How are you? I'm good. I have two good friends, Alex and Ronnie. James is a prat as always. Can you please trade him for a dog? Maybe even a cat. How's Lily? Did she finally stop crying? Remind her that she only has to wait two more years until she comes! Anyways, dad, I really wanted to ask you a question. Everyone around here seems to think of you as some kind of legend, a hero. I know it's ridiculous but I just wanted to tell you for laughs. Funny, huh? Well I'll be going now, got loads of studying to do! Lots of Love!

P.S. Dad, I don't know if I'm terrible at potions like you were yet, because our Professor is missing. I do hope he comes; Alex is ready to teach himself potions if the Professor doesn't turn up soon.

Love,

Albus"

Maybe Albus didn't have to ask Alex any questions about his own father after all. Plus, how absurd could the answers be? That he defeated who-knows-what? He chuckled at the thought.

Yes, his father was an auror, but that doesn't mean that he was some sort of hero. People work him up to be someone who saved the world or something. Albus just couldn't get the idea through his head. His father didn't seem like someone who was immensely brave. He wouldn't even let Albus, James, or Lily out of the house alone. That was the main reason that Albus didn't already know anyone around his age who would be going to Hogwarts other than Rose. It felt great to be in Hogwarts because he could actually interact with other kids. His father had no reason to make him stay enclosed in their house for all these years.

He was paranoid, not brave. But Albus did love him that way.

Alex walked into the room when Albus was about to finish sealing his letter. He was holding at least three books that were all extremely thick. Albus couldn't see how he was going to read all of those. He would never think of reading them at all. Alex plopped all the books on his bed as he delivered a look of great exhaustion.

"I just went to get a useful potions book because I'm beginning to doubt that Professor Slughorn is going to be coming back any time soon. I don't want to waste another day doing nothing! I wasn't sure which potions book would help, so I just grabbed these three," he said whilst offering one of the books to Albus. They were all kind of heavy and Albus had no intention on reading them so he shook his head and muttered a small "no, thank you."

"So do you know where Ronnie is? I was hoping that she'd be in the common room so we could discuss the last Herbology lesson Professor Longbottom taught," asked Alex.

"No, I don't. What happened was-" Albus was cut short when the door flew open. In came a boy that the two recognized from their classes but never talked to. Albus never wondered who their other roommates, who were to occupy the two other beds in the dorm, were. The boy had ruffled brown hair and was taller than both Alex and Albus. His skin was freckled and he had a big pointed nose.

"Hello there," howled the boy.

"Wait, what are you doing in here?" accused Alex, quite confused. Intuition was telling him that this new guy was not someone he would take a particular liking to.

"Erm - I sleep in here. This is my dorm, too," snapped the boy, sensing the unfriendliness in Alex's tone.

"I never noticed you, though. Pardon me, but how is it that we've-" Alex looked quickly at Albus for reassurance of never seeing him either; or maybe just a sign that Albus shared Alex's dislike for the boy as well, "-never seen you here. It's been a couple of days already and I would assume that if this was your dorm we'd have met you."

"Well I have seen you two here. I always go to bed very late so you're already asleep by the time I get here. I'm Jake Webster by the way," said Jake exceptionally calmly, succeeding in keeping his tone light while throwing himself on the bed next to Albus'.

"We go to sleep at the designated times. Why would you come here late? That's against the rules -" started Alex before being rudely interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah. Listen, I've seen how much of a goody-goody you are in class and I'm not up to listening to any more of it while I'm trying to relax," said Jake. This time, Alex was really getting under his skin.

Albus knew that Alex could get a bit annoying but he would never say something like that to him, especially if he didn't know him yet. This was the first time the two have met and Jake was insulting him as if they were perfectly fine with it. Albus was thinking about defending Alex but he rapidly spoke for himself.

"Well, then. I see where we stand. I guess I'll just be forced to tell Jones and Edwards you're in bed late again," spat Alex. His temper nearly reaching its limit, he struggled with keeping his composure.

"Okay? Have fun with that," said Jake before he closed his bed curtains and stayed silent.

Alex's hands were trembling as he stared at his wand lying on his own bed. But he didn't do anything. He just grabbed his books and walked out of the dorm, slamming the door behind him.

Albus didn't like Jake at all, but it wasn't his business to have a row with him after Alex left. Besides, Albus was already exhausted with all the disputes going on today. He more than anything wanted to just go to sleep and forget about the entire thing, but he had to deliver his letter before lights out. He grabbed the letter and his wand then ran down the stairs, remembering to also slam the door on his way out.

In the common room he could hear Alex asking people if they'd seen Ronnie. She wasn't there.

_She's probably just in her dorm,_ Albus thought to himself. _Crying. No, don't be silly. She wouldn't cry about that._ He climbed through the portrait hole and left the Gryffindor common room to deal with other matters.

He was half-way to the owlery when he heard a loud scream. It was followed by a screech that didn't sound human, nor like any animal he'd ever heard before. Albus went rigid, and then collapsed to the ground with his hands above his head. After a few silent moments, he peeked out slowly to make sure he was safe. When he saw no one, he leaped off the ground and started to sprint back to the common room, his mind racing miles ahead of his feet.

Down a few hallways Albus swore that he heard something and kept throwing himself on the nearest wall. He clenched his wand tightly in his hand and was breathing heavily. For a moment he thought he saw something big and black, but he couldn't recognize it and, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. Albus couldn't believe his eyes and was more than sure, or perhaps hoped, that he was just imagining all of this.

Albus could hardly sleep that night, and was also upset that he never got to send his letter. He knew that it could wait, but he couldn't get the image of that creature out of his mind. He didn't tell Alex because he would surely think he was a lunatic, and Ronnie ignored him when he tried to apologize for their row yesterday.

It was really awkward for Alex because his two friends were not talking to each other but he still tried to include the both of them in one whole conversation.

Albus never got around to telling Alex what happened between him and Ronnie, but it wasn't that hard to figure out that they were mad at each other. They were in the Great Hall and Alex was in the middle of the two. It seemed like the whole Great Hall was deep in conversation except that one little spot at the Gryffindor table where the trio sat. Alex was the first to speak.

"So we've got our first flying lesson today, Ronnie! Are you excited?" asked Alex with a smile. Flying never excited him, but if there was even the slightest chance of making Ronnie happy, he'd force a smile.

"Yeah, I guess," said Ronnie dully.

"What about you Albus? Ready to get on that broom?" asked Alex with yet another forced smile.

"Not really," muttered Albus just as monotonous as Ronnie did.

"Hopefully we all have a ton of fun!" said Alex hugging each of them from his sides as they both made no movement or expression.

The trio sauntered to their first flying lesson with unease. Albus and Ronnie refused to be next to each other so Alex was stuck, yet again, in the middle. He tried to spur another conversation with them, but the pair just wouldn't cooperate so they stayed in silent the rest of the way there.

Madame Hooch was an exceptionally good teacher. Most of the children were able to mount their brooms within the first twenty minutes of class. This class had both Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Neither House was trying to outperform the other, which made it fun for everyone.

One of the first to mount her broom was Ronnie. It didn't take much time until she was Madame Hooch's favorite student. She was flying circles around everyone and her long, blonde hair flew gracefully behind her as she did so.

Alex wasn't that bad, he was able to mount his broom after about ten minutes into the class. He wasn't flying around, though, just staring around at the Hufflepuffs. His head was moving all over the place as if he were searching for someone.

Albus was one of the last people to mount their brooms. He felt ashamed and was so grateful that James wasn't around to tease him. He, along with three other students, One Gryffindor and two Hufflepuffs, needed extra help from Madame Hooch. It was extremely embarrassing to see how horrible he was doing compared to Ronnie. How she cackled whenever she flew over him didn't help either.

"You're Weasley's and Potter's son, aren't you?" asked Madame Hooch and Albus nodded. The rest of the group gasped with sudden realization and Albus ignored them. "How are they?"

"They're fine," said Albus shyly. He knew what was coming.

"Your brother is an excellent flier. Took him a while, but he's great. I'm sure you will be, too," said Madame Hooch enthusiastically.

There it was. She said it. He knew that Madame Hooch was expecting him to be an amazing flier like the rest of his family. Unfortunately, he was the worse in the family and he had no way of hiding it.

This wasn't the only trouble in his mind though. He didn't know what it was going to take, but he knew it was going to be a lot in order for Ronnie to forgive him. He tried to remember what he said to her, but all he could remember was saying that she hardly had any friends. Everything he said was just a spur of the moment and he didn't mean a word of it. Ronnie and Alex both meant a lot to him already and losing one of them so early would be dreadful.

"Everyone, please follow behind me as we slowly fly around the yard. Not too high now. Yes – nice – now lower your broom Cambridge," said Madame Hooch to the class. Everyone formed a sort of mob behind her and flied slowly together.

One Hufflepuff boy was flying around recklessly and couldn't keep his balance. It was as if his broom had a mind of its own.

"BLOODY HELL!" yelled the boy so loudly that Madame Hooch gave him a disgusted face in spite of what was happening to him.

"Cambridge, do me a favor and help that boy get it together!" yelled Madame Hooch. Ronnie hurriedly went to try to help the boy, but it was easier said than done. He was unable to stop and Ronnie was forced to tug him off his broom and half-carry him back to ground.

Alex was flying next to Albus and he seemed very edgy. Albus was terrified of falling, and he was so afraid of heights. He had no idea how Ronnie was flying so well, particularly since this was her first time and she had never even held a broom, let alone ride one.

The class reached the other end of the courtyard and was making the turn to go back when Ronnie suddenly flew in Albus' path which threw him off balance. He was dangling from the broom trying to pull himself up as Alex screamed for Madame Hooch to come help. Ronnie flew away immediately to blend in with the rest of the class and avoid trouble. Madame Hooch was on her way but Albus lost his grip on the broom and fell down.

Luckily for him, they weren't that much above ground but he fell far enough to have sprained his wrist. Madame Hooch landed in a hurry and tried to comfort Albus.

"Oh, dear. We'll need to get you to Madame Pomfrey so she can heal you right away," said Madame Hooch in a sympathetic voice.

"Professor, I'll take him!" said Alex almost immediately.

"Alright, Greenfield. Take Potter to the Hospital Wing and tell Madame Pomfrey what happened. I'll be up there just as soon as class is over. You're a good friend, Greenfield," said Madame Hooch as everyone began to land.

Albus could see Ronnie at the front of the swarm looking very worried and even more guilty. She pushed herself into the crowd to hide when Madame Hooch complimented Alex for being a good friend. Alex grabbed Albus and walked him out of the courtyard back into the castle.

"So what happened between you two?! What could it have been that she'd be provoked to throw you off your broom!" yelled Alex as soon as they entered the castle and out of earshot.

"It's a long story," said Albus plainly. He wasn't feeling well and really didn't feel like talking about the events that took place the day before.

"Well, we have a bit of a walk until we get to the Hospital Wing so you might as well make use of it," Alex snapped, exasperated. He was tired of forcing smiles and not being informed as to why he was even doing it.

"We got into an argument," said Albus hoping that would satisfy his friend.

He was wrong. Painfully wrong.

"Okay, well obviously! What exactly happened?" he shrieked, primarily failing to stay calm.

"She was criticizing me for talking to Bella Lestrange – the Slytherin girl – and I just didn't like it. Ronnie had no reason to talk badly about her. She doesn't even know her," explained Albus now remembering all his irritation. "And then I told her that _that_ is why she hardly has friends. That attitude of hers surely gets annoying."

"Well has it occurred to you that she was looking out for you? That girl, Bella Lestrange. I don't trust her. She doesn't seem like the kind of person you should be mixing yourself up with. Even her mere name gives me the chills. It sounds oddly familiar though, doesn't it?" Alex reasoned while tapping his chin, indicating how deep into thought he was going.

"Whatever. I don't even want to talk about this. Look we're here," said Albus now annoyed with Alex for disliking Bella too. He couldn't believe that none of his friends could see how great she was!

When they entered the Hospital Wing, Madame Pomfrey was already busy taking care of another student. The student was hidden behind curtains placed around their cot. When Alex closed the door, Madame Pomfrey took a moment to soar out from the curtains.

"Sorry for that, boys. What can I do you for?" asked Madame Pomfrey urgently.

"I sprained my wrist in a flying lesson. I fell from my broom" clarified Albus, awfully embarrassed but was glad there weren't many people in the room.

"Poor boy. Now, come here. What's your name?" asked Madame Pomfrey while escorting Albus to a bed where he sat on as she examined his wrist.

"Albus Potter," he said while trying to restrain the whimpers that threatened to escape his lips because of the pain.

"Potter! Of course! Your father used to always come here. It was as if the Hospital Wing was his second dorm!" joked Madame Pomfrey while fetching for her wand.

Alex sat next to him trying to be sympathetic. "See Albus," he started. "No need to be ashamed or embarrassed! Your father used to come here all the time."

That didn't exactly make Albus feel better, but he wondered why his father came to the Hospital Wing so much. Did he fall off brooms, too? No, that couldn't be it; he was a fantastic flier.

"Here we are. Now, hold your wrist and you might feel a slight pinch," notified Madame Pomfrey while pointing her wand at his wrist. He felt the pinch she warned him about, but then felt completely fine.

"That should do it, then. You can stay here for the last ten minutes of the period. I need to tend to Mr. Jones over there," informed Madame Pomfrey with a subtle hint of apathy.

When she opened the curtains to go inside, he saw Taylor Jones laying there. He was all scratched up, and looked exhausted. He gave Albus a sad look before Madame Pomfrey closed the curtains and went back to tending him.

"I wonder what happened to him," speculated Alex, rather shocked. He then added, "Oh and Madame Pomfrey, Madame Hooch wanted us to tell you that she'll be up as soon as class is over."

They heard her utter a quick "okay" and they knew she was busy. Albus wondered if Taylor was the one he heard scream last night, but it couldn't be. That was all in his imagination. Or so he wished. He felt guilty for not telling anyone what happened when it did. But what could he be expected to do? He just wanted to forget all about it.

Madame Hooch strode through the doors a little while later and was pleased to see that Albus was already healed.

"There's nothing that Madame Pomfrey can't heal. So grateful for that witch," said Madame Hooch.

Albus wasn't paying attention to Madame Hooch but felt eyes piercing the skin at the back of his neck. He turned his head and saw Ronnie hiding behind the door.

When his eyes met hers, she ran away.


	5. Charmed

Albus was still upset that he and Ronnie hadn't made up and a week had already passed. Even Alex's awkward attempts to reunite his friends proved to be futile. Albus was also bothered by the fact that he and Ronnie had just met and, already, they have a quarrel that's lasted as long as their friendship.

The bitter cold months were approaching and it was evident to anyone at Hogwarts that it would not be long before all of its students were equipped with heavy coats, gloves, and scarves; it was as if the weather was a mirror-image of Albus' irritation. The leaves were almost dead on the floor and Filch, the caretaker, was fulfilling his usual role as the school's prat.

"I saw him walking around with some cat; her name is Mrs. Norris," said Ronnie sounding disgusted. "What an odd name for a cat."

"Oh, I love cats! I have one back at home. She's a kitten actually; her name is Peeky!" said Alex happily.

"Why didn't you bring her to Hogwarts?" asked Albus, very interested. He always wanted a pet but he wasn't very good with animals. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure what pet he'd want. An owl? A cat? A toad? He kind of wanted an owl, but he just couldn't make up his mind.

"I wanted to get to know the place before I brought Peeky here, but hopefully I can bring her next year," explained Alex.

Ronnie would only really talk to Alex which made both boys uncomfortable.

Albus sent his letter to his parents in the morning before he forgot to. Because of everything that has been going on, he kept postponing his attempt to send it. He didn't add anything to it, especially nothing about how he had fallen off his broom. James sent his own letter telling them anyways.

"I can't wait to see what mum and dad say," giggled James as he ran up to Albus. "I mean, come on, little brother, Dad even bought you a toy broom like he did me. And even then you couldn't control it!"

Albus threw an irritated look at James. His brother had been extra annoying lately, and with managing his leisure time, homework time and the perpetual feud with Ronnie, the last thing Albus wanted to hear was James' usual mockery.

"Why don't I send them all the detentions you get every week from Professor Belikov for bothering the first years? I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear about it!" sneered Albus, content with James' hostile facial expression. Both of them knew it was true, but James was not one that enjoyed being ridiculed. Albus, of course, loved turning the tables on his brother.

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, little brother. Don't want your girlfriend over there to hear you saying such things, now do you?" whispered James, audible only for Albus. That did it. Albus turned on his heel and stormed off in the other direction. He needed some time alone, without Ronnie, without Alex, and especially without James.

Two steps later, however, Albus realized that he had Charms class with Hufflepuffs to attend. He still was not in the mood to be around people, though, so he took a slightly longer route. Alex and Ronnie, having only briefly paused to hear fragments of the spat between the two brothers, walked to Charms together, only a bit confused about Albus' temper.

"Spongify, the softening charm," said a tiny man in dark blue robes. Professor Flitwick, the Charms professor, had a tiny body that matched his squeaky voice perfectly.

"Students, watch carefully," he instructed as he grabbed a rock from a basket next to his desk and started waving his wand around. Flitwick proceeded to plummet the rock at a Hufflepuff student, yet instead of wails of pain, he, along with the rest of the class, remained silent as ever.

"You see, class! Spongify can even turn a rock into a softball! Now, you try! Remember, Spongi-fy!"

And, with that, the students darted to the basket of rocks. All except Albus, Ronnie, and Alex. Ronnie and Albus looked at Alex, who was looking at the Hufflepuff boy he remembered as Jonathan, expectantly. They refused to get their rocks themselves.

He was just sitting there, playing with his quill. Alex watched him closely. "Why?" he whispered to himself. "He's not doing anything interesting, just messing about with his quill."

"Greenfield!" yelled Flitwick and Alex jumped. Flitwick was staring right at him. "Grab a rock, take your wand and get to work! You and your friends! Same applies to you Willingham, get moving. Come on!"

All four of them stood up and walked up to the front desk. As Alex reached for a rock, he heard a few students begin their attempts at casting the spell. He skulked back to his desk to join Albus and Ronnie.

"What's up with you? Don't tell me you're upset about getting in a little trouble," Ronnie teased light-heartedly.

"What? Oh! Nothing, just thinking," said Alex with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Right... Okay then," Ronnie answered, not buying his claims for even a second.

Albus seemed to be in a distant planet, unnerved by Ronnie's and Alex's joking. He was still in a bad mood from the spat before class, and he was hoping that maybe the spell will lighten his attitude.

"Shall we get to work then?" asked Alex. "Who wants to try first? Maybe you, Ronnie?"

Ronnie gave him an annoyed look; they all knew that, despite her joking, spells were not her strong point, so she was slightly irritated that Alex had suggested she be the first to try an entirely new one.

"No, why don't you let Albus do it. Since he obviously always knows what's best about everything," she sapped, perhaps with a little more rage than intended.

Alex looked at Albus sympathetically and Albus shook his head. He was completely tired of all this fighting, and didn't know why Ronnie was so mad at him.

_She was the one that pushed me off my broomstick! She deserves to be on the bad end of this mess!_Albus thought to himself. He knew she felt bad; he saw her in the Hospital Wing. She was definitely guilty, but was too stubborn to admit it. Albus was tired of trying to mend this friendship if she didn't want to as well.

"Fine. I'll do it then," sighed Alex. "Spongify!"

Alex pointed his wand at a medium sized rock and then stared at it. "Has it worked?" he wondered. "I guess I'll have to try it out," he asserted as he threw it at Ronnie.

"Oi! You did it wrong! I thought you were supposed to be good at everything?!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Just let me do it!" she barked before pointing her own wand at the rock and tried the spell.

Ronnie threw the rock at Albus and he didn't remark. It didn't hurt at all; Ronnie had done it right.

"That's great Ronnie! I'm really proud of y-" said Alex before Ronnie interrupted him.

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep trying. it isn't that hard," she murmured while looking a little disappointed that Albus hadn't been harmed.

"I guess you do everything better when you're mad, Ronnie. First flying, and now this," said Alex smiling weakly and Ronnie smiled while rolling her eyes, finding an underlying film of playfulness in his tone.

Ronnie and Alex kept working on the charm, but Albus was thinking of other things. Had it been Jones that he heard the other night screaming in the corridors? He was a prefect. Who would attack him? He showed up a few days after their encounter in the Gryffindor common room with bruises but assured to everyone that he was alright. But it's impossible. That couldn't have been him, because Albus was sure he had imagined it all. How would a huge creature be in Hogwarts? Wasn't this supposed to be the safest place to be?

Albus didn't want to ask but he conveniently overheard some Gryffindors ask Jones what happened to him. He said that he didn't remember a thing and that he was alright now even though he felt very weak. His bruises were very noticeable the first time he saw them, but they started to fade away.

The class was coming to a rather abrupt end. Rocks littered the classroom floor and only one, Ronnie's, had actually turned into the spongy-rock they were supposed to be.

They had one more lesson before lunchtime and they were heading for the door. As Alex walked through the arch doorway, he bumped straight into the Hufflepuff boy named Jonathan.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where-" Jonathan started. His voice was soft and deep. He had a very strong accent, too. His hair was brown and his eyes were a bright, emerald green.

"No, it's my fault. I wasn't concentrating," Alex explained.

"Come on!" Ronnie shouted after Alex. "We haven't got all day, you know! We've got some Defense Against the Dark Arts to learn! Don't want to miss a lesson, now do we, Awex?" she teased. This was a sign that Ronnie's mood was clearly improving, in spite of Albus' very close presence.

After a long pause, Alex finally spoke "Hey, ermm, do you want to, maybe, come and hang around with us after our last class?"

"Well, I've got a lot of Potions work to catch up on-" Jonathan started. "Sure. Lead the way," he said, smiling.

"Oh! Hello stranger," said Ronnie looking confused as the two walked up to them.

"Hi," Jonathan greeted softly as all four of them set off to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Coincidentally, they had that class together, too, in addition to their Flying lessons. It seems they had the whole of Tuesday together! The trio didn't even notice their whole Tuesday was with the Hufflepuffs last week and, frankly, Alex was a bit more content about the idea than he should have been.

Stepping into Professor Belikov's, all four of them took their seats. The room had a staircase at the opposite end of the classroom that would lead to a door that remained closed. Albus hoped, simply because of the terrifying stories his brother had told him about the Dark Arts and soulless creature called Dementors, that the door remained closed. He focused, now, on forgetting such tales.

"I am Professor Belikov. In this classroom, you will show me the utmost respect possible. My philosophy is that before you can even stand a chance against the Dark Arts, you must first learn proper discipline. Seeing as you will all be here for several years, I have enough time to drill it in you. After you have been taught what you must know, only then can you know how to defend yourself properly. That is where this class will help you," declared Professor Belikov.

His voice caught the entire room's attention. There was a silence as if everyone had been holding their breath. All of the children, after just these few sentences, respected the Professor, but Alex in particular clung to every word and already began taking notes. Perhaps it was because he was such a strong advocate of discipline, but Alex was now looking forward to every DADA class with Professor Belikov.

_Why does Alex try so hard?_ thought Albus.

"Now, do not mistake me for the nanny the caretaker is. I believe there is a higher level of respect, well above walking around with a cat and complaining about students out of bed," Professor Belikov scrunched his nose in obvious dislike; this comment appealed the most to Albus, who, despite the fact that he was not a troublemaker, was constantly annoyed by Filch.

The rest of the class consisted of Professor Belikov's disciplinary theory. Albus had taken a newfound interest in the subject; but then again, so did everyone else. Even Ronnie couldn't take her eyes off him; but truth be told, it was obvious that all the girls were just staring at him because of his devilish good looks.

The class was dismissed promptly and Albus, Alex, Ronnie, and Jonathan walked out together. However, instead of voicing their remarks on Professor Belikov, they all remained mostly silent with very little small talk. Nevertheless, they had managed to arrange another meet up after they had eaten.

After about ten minutes, the four approached the entrance hall saying nothing.

"Why don't we go down to the field and let him introduce himself?" Albus whispered to Alex. The four of them walked out the huge front doors and sat down on the green grass in a tight circle.

"So, um, this is awkward but, can you, like, introduce yourself?" Ronnie asked laughing, breaking the ice and returning to her usual, bubbly self.

Jonathan half smiled. "Sure, ermm. Well, my name's Jonathan but please call me Johnny. Ermm, I'm from Liverpool. And... well… yeah." There was a long pause. Too long. Johnny finally piped up. "God, I'm terrible at introducing myself," he said laughing, following Ronnie's lead.

The quartet parted ways soon after, but Albus thought he heard Alex mention something about seeing Johnny soon.

A few days had passed since then, and Johnny had slowly started to become really good friends with Albus, Ronnie and Alex. They had learned a lot more about him in the few days and they often exchanged stories from each others' common rooms. They always liked to meet by a tree in the corner of the grounds.

"And then Sarah Whitehall said she'd seen a real life unicorn fighting a troll!" Ronnie told them, eyes beaming.

"That's stupid! A Unicorn couldn't do that!" Johnny argued.

The Hufflepuff common room seemed to be a lively place full of gossip from what Johnny was saying.

"I heard a girl in the common room say she looked a Basalisk right in the eye. And survived!" he shared, his face filling with excitement.

"Not possible at all!" shouted Alex. "I've read in 'The Monster Book of Monsters' that no one has ever survived looking a Basilisk in the eye. If you even see a reflection of the thing, you're bloody petrified!"

"Way to ruin the story," said Ronnie. But after seeing Alex get a little upset she added, "Wait! No, you're right. That is impossible. Maybe someone can find a spell to be able to do that one day! Maybe you, Alex, eh? Since you're so smart," she winked and he flushed red.

Albus hardly had any input in this conversation. Instead, he sat playing with some grass. Their argument had made Albus and Ronnie fight for an input in any conversation, Ronnie often winning.

"Wait, Johnny, a few days ago, did you say that you had to catch up on some Potion's work?" asked Alex, and Johnny nodded. Alex got a little hopeful and asked. "So Slughorn is back?"

"Nope, we've got a substitute. Her name is Professor Verana," said Johnny with a hint of sadness.

"Is she mean? She better not be mean," asked Ronnie almost jumping up and out of her seat.

"I would rather have her mean than as useless as she is. She left all this work, but didn't even teach," said Johnny very upset.

"I wonder how I'm going to do. Hopefully, I do well. Maybe then I'd be able to help you," said Alex very enthusiastically. Johnny gave him a weird stare, and then smiled.

A few hours later, they continued to laugh with each other as the sun set on yet another fun filled day. They said their goodbyes to Johnny as he walked back to his common room and Albus, Ronnie, and Alex made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Alex, once again tried to make conversation.

"You know, I really could help Johnny with his Potions homework. If only there was a way I could go into the Hufflepuff common room. That would make things a lot easier."

"But we're Gryffindors. He can't come to ours and we can't go to his. I wonder what that'd be like though," said Albus as he started to think of fun possibilities.

"Yeah, I know, don't worry. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's against the rules."

"And we wouldn't want Awex to get into any twouble," Ronnie teased amusingly.

"Right," said Alex a bit annoyed. "So tomorrow we have Transfiguration, Astronomy and then Herbology. Oh! Herbology's with the Hufflepuffs! What a great- Oh no," said Alex, sounding horrified. "Transfiguration is with the Slytherins!"

Albus' eyes brightened. Another chance to talk to Bella!

"Say, Alex. Can you come and give me a hand with my trunk in our dorm? Please?" Albus asked. Unsure, Alex agreed.

When they reached their dorm Albus slammed the door shut and turned to Alex.

"Right! Can you _please_ distract Ronnie during Transfiguration so I can talk to Bella? Please?!" he begged.

"Well ermm, didn't Ronnie say she was-"

"Don't you dare say anything about Bella! You've said enough about her already!" shouted Albus, shaking with fury.

Albus continued to stare at Alex until he finally gave in. "Fine! I'll distract her!" he said angrily as he stormed out of the boys' dorm.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, Ronnie came dashing up to him.

"Alex! Can we talk outside a second?" she squeaked, looking anxiously up at the boys' dorm. They both walked out of the portrait and into a dimly lit, empty corridor.

"Can you, like, keep talking to Albus all lesson so he doesn't go and talk to that cow, Lestrange? Please?"

"Ermm..."

"Alex. It'd be a huge help."

"But I just-"

"You know how much of a bad influence she is."

Alex was lost. He didn't know what to do! Ronnie gave him a threatening look and Alex gave in. "Oh, Alright then!" he scoffed.

He stormed off, wondering how in the world he was going to get past tomorrow.

_Maybe I'll get lucky and someone will kill me in my sleep tonight, _he thought.


	6. Hidden Tactics

Albus awoke that morning slightly sweating. He had had a peculiar dream in which the monster he had noticed not too long ago had somehow found its way into the castle and was tracking him down. On and on Albus ran for dear life, panting, never stopping for he was afraid that, if he did for even a fragment of a second, Death's arms would wrap around him before he even had a chance to say goodbye.

"Oi!" said Alex. Up bright and early as always, Alex was already wearing his robes while he shouted at Albus to wake up. Of course, Alex didn't pay much attention and missed the drops of sweat scattered on Albus' forehead. "Breakfast is almost ready, Albus. I already called Ronnie and she's waiting for us downstairs."

Albus got up and dressed promptly and quickly; no need to get Alex mad at him too. Ronnie and Alex were waiting at the foot of the dormitory stairs, the latter with five books in hand.

"Sorry," muttered Albus. Meanwhile, he thought '_there's no way that was real. I mean who could have been in the castle? Headmistress McGonagall would surely heed off any threat to any student._' Yet, something in Albus told him that this was no ordinary dream. Still, he felt the need to look over his shoulder once or twice to make sure nothing was following him.

All the while, Alex and Ronnie were chatting animatedly, oblivious to Albus' peculiar silence.

"Let's see. Today, we have Transfiguration with the Slytherins and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Hopefully, we can live through Transfiguration and make it to Herbology," Alex joked with a louder-than-necessary, shaky laugh; he still had no idea how he was going to distract Albus and Ronnie at the same time.

"Yeah, we all need to pay close attention in Transfiguration, right Albus?" asked Alex pointedly.

"What? Oh, yeah."

Albus started daydreaming when Alex mentioned Transfiguration. Finally, he had the opportunity to talk to Bella again; and even better, he had Alex's word that Ronnie would be as little involved as possible. Albus grinned at himself, content that he had Alex on his side instead of Ronnie's.

The trio entered the Great Hall, all cheery for different reasons. Albus did his usual rake for Bella, but found her absence instead. That wasn't enough to dim his spirits, however. Unfortunately, something else did: the Headmistress was gone. To most others, this would be meaningless. Obviously she was talking to another professor, or in her office, or perhaps even taking an early morning stroll. But to Albus, who was still terrified from the dream, this created an ominous feeling.

Breakfast was the usual and soon the trio was headed to Transfiguration. The classroom was vast and had desks built for two students at a time. Albus tried to seize the opportunity and sit with Bella, but she had not arrived yet. Instead, he glumly sat next to Ronnie, since the seat Alex was sparing for Albus had been occupied by a Slytherin girl, who radiated unpleasantness.

Albus and Alex exchanged looks of pity for each other, but even Albus had to admit that Alex got the shorter end of the stick. Even when things were rocky with Ronnie, Albus would have preferred her over that Slytherin girl any day.

Bella and her two friends walked into the classroom, almost gliding. They made their ways to the front of the class and Bella sat with Patricia Knight. Behind them came Scorpius, frowning as usual, who sat with Isabella.

The professor noticed them, but only smiled. He didn't seem like the type to scold a student for being late. He was a short, wiry man. He had a small brown beard that had subtle hints of gray, and his body was a little rounded.

Professor Churchill started, "Good morning, students. I am Professor Churchill, your Transfiguration professor. In this class, you will learn to go from this," he paused and, with the wave of his wand, turned his desk into a white, majestic horse, "to this." This time, he turned the horse back into a desk. No matter what he said, now every student wanted to learn Transfiguration as quickly as possible.

After a few more minutes of lecturing, all the students were disappointed to find out their first task which was turning a match into a needle. It was bland and, most of all, boring. Everyone wanted to make horses, not needles. Nonetheless, they each took their matches and began immediately.

As soon as Professor Churchill was distracted, Alex ran to Ronnie's and Albus' desk.

"Strange, isn't it, how in just a few short years, we'll be able to turn desks into horses!" exclaimed Alex.

Albus, looking down, turned slightly away from the pair, as Ronnie heard a faint crack; her eyes glowered at him.

"Wow, these matches are brittle. I think I'll go get another one from the Professor," smiled Albus, anxious to go to the front of the classroom, since Bella was seated not too far from the Professor's desk. Before Ronnie or Alex could even mutter a protest, Albus was halfway across the classroom.

Ronnie rounded on Alex. "I thought you were supposed to distract him!" she fumed.

"Sorry, Ronnie, his match just broke, what can I do about it?" Alex explained.

"Well, I don't care. He's still angry at me and if I try anything, he'll know I'm trying to keep him away from her. He already knows I don't take too well to her. Alex, you promised me, you would do this!" she whispered frantically, as she witnessed Churchill give Albus another match and Albus make his way up to Bella's desk.

"Fine, Ronnie!" Alex steamed. He was partially angry at Ronnie's incomprehension, but had to admit he was angrier at himself for signing a pact with both of them to do the impossible. He proceeded to break his own match so as to have an excuse for going up to the professor.

With a radiating smile, Albus had already reached Bella's desk, and she took a few seconds to process who had approached her.

"My, my, students! No need to break the match in order to turn it into a needle," Churchill said as he handed Alex a spare.

Albus, not having noticed Alex's actions, was still smiling at Bella. "Hello, Bella. How are you today?" Albus queried with the most captivating smile he could manage. When he was with her, nothing else mattered. It was just him and Bella, oh so beautiful Bella.

"Lovely. This is just what I needed. Yet another reason to hate this class," she sneered.

"You hate this class?" exclaimed Albus, too infatuated to notice her malicious implication.

"Why, yes. Yes, I do. Shall I explain?" she asked rhetorically. Never in her worst nightmares would she have expected the following answer.

"Please do!" He nearly jumped for joy when she openly invited him into a conversation. Bella was just about to open her mouth Alex bumped into him.

"Albus, will you please help me figure something out? Please!" Alex pleaded.

Albus could not believe what Alex was doing. He was foiling his chance to talk to Bella! Wasn't he supposed to be distracting Ronnie so he could do this?! What is he doing?! Albus put those thoughts aside, however, as he realized that whatever he may need must be of upmost importance. Albus gave Bella a saddened look and followed Alex to the back of the classroom.

"Alex, you better have a good reason for interrupting me!" demanded Albus.

"Yeah, erm... I was wondering what I should get Ronnie for Christmas," said Alex weakly, saying anything that came to mind.

Albus could not believe what he was hearing.

"You _what_?! This is what you pulled me away from Bella for?! Alex, are you mental? I am supposed to be having a great conversation with a beautiful girl right now, and you want to know what you should get Ronnie for a bloody holiday that is weeks away?!" Albus was fuming. How dare Alex tear him away from Bella to ask such a casual question! Did he not know how important that shot was for him?

"Alex, I warn you now; you promised me you would distract Ronnie and so you did. I do not need to worry about you distracting me as well. Got it?" Albus did not really give him much wiggle room.

"Got it," resigned Alex, feeling like a lousy friend.

Albus seemed content with this answer and turned to Bella to check if she may, by some miraculous reason, want to resume that conversation. However, she was animatedly talking to her friends, although Scorpius did not seem to be interested in anything Bella had to say. Albus turned on his heel and followed Alex back to Ronnie, relinquishing all hope of ever having such a perfect opportunity again. Despite his gloominess, Albus still vowed to attempt to speak to Bella again, at least once, during this class.

Albus and Alex arrived to their seats next to Ronnie's, who evidently felt awfully smug.

"Look, guys! I managed to turn the match silver!" she exclaimed excitedly, momentarily forgetting the ongoing row between her and Albus and trying to engage the two boys into a lively conversation.

Albus scrutinized the pseudo-silver match and said "It barely changed, Ronnie."

"Well, it's further than you've gotten. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going to the girls' bathroom," she said with an edge, at which point she walked out of the classroom and left.

Albus, quickly conjuring a plan, seized the opportunity and, without a second thought or even acknowledgment of Alex's protests, rose and walked over to Bella's desk. Isabella and Patricia were speaking amongst themselves, which left Bella silently alone.

_Perfect_, Albus thought.

"Hello again, Bella," exclaimed Albus for the second time today; he hoped he would not need to repeat it thrice.

"Oh, wasn't your friend warning you about me when he suddenly decided to pull you away?" accused Bella.

"Of course not! He just wanted some advice on, er, how to talk to girls!" Albus improvised, with the most uncomfortable smile Bella had ever seen; she knew he was lying through his teeth.

"Oh, and you're supposed to be some kind of expert?" she laughed.

"Well, I'm not so bad, once you get to know me," cheered Albus. He was unaware of the heavy sarcasm that permeated in Bella's tone.

"I'm sure you— Oi!" bellowed Bella. Someone had hurtled a book across the room and hit Bella's delicate head. Both Bella and Albus turned to look at the source of the heavy volume and noticed that only Alex was there, staring surprised at them. Ronnie was in the back of the classroom, talking excitedly with Jake Webster.

Albus was furious. No, he was ready to erupt with fury! All the anger that had built with Ronnie over the past few weeks was nothing compared to what he felt for Alex right now. How dare he throw a book at her?! Was he really this stupid?! None of that mattered right now.. All Albus knew was that as soon as class was over, Alex was as good as dead.

"Mr. Greenfield and Mr. Potter! Up to my desk right now! Miss Hunt, please take Miss Lestrange up to the Hospital Wing! Off you go, the both of you," shouted Professor Churchill. His face was flushing with anger. It was noticeable that he wasn't one to usually yell by how unintimidating he sounded. "How dare you throw that book, Mr. Greenfield? You could have seriously injured Miss Lestrange!

"But, but, but, I didn't —" started Alex.

"And as for you Mr. Potter, how dare you consent to such a plan, knowing the dangers that could occur? No. no explanations. Detention! Both of you. This Saturday at six o'clock. And twenty points will be taken from Gryffindor for your actions." Both boys were ready to protest when Professor Churchill added, "each!" Then he raised his voice, "class dismissed!"

Alex and Albus turned around and walked out of the classroom, too upset that he not only had detention for something he didn't do, but had also lost points for Gryffindor. Albus was more preoccupied with the fact that Bella would probably never speak to him again.

_Oh, what a great day_, thought Albus bitterly, silently hoping that somehow Bella's memory of the incident would be erased and she would perhaps consider not ignoring him for the rest of her life.

"Just so we're clear, I hate you." And with that, Albus departed Alex.


	7. Prioritizing

Albus was half a corridor away from Alex when he heard Ronnie yelling for him. He was still quite irritated and didn't even want to turn around. She began to yell even louder, so he snaps his head to look in her direction. He couldn't tell what she was saying, but the way she was casting her arms around showed him it was urgent; Albus still had half a mind to keep walking but decided against it. He was 3 meters away from her when she stepped forward and frantically grabbed his arm.

"It wasn't Alex! It was me! Don't get mad at him, please! He's been such a good friend and I don't want him to take this blame!" she squealed.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This made him even angrier at her. How could she throw the book at Bella and let the blame fall on Alex? Well, ok. She was confessing to it now.

He immediately felt bad for treating Alex so badly. He had been the one keeping their friendship together, and no one ever really stopped to thank him. Telling Alex that he hated him probably wasn't the best thing to do. Right now, he needed to deal with Ronnie who was just staring at him with her eyes wide open.

"Well?! I'd appreciate it if you said something," said Ronnie, releasing her grip from Albus' arms. _Oh great,_he thought, _the attitude is back_.

"You got Alex and I detention, because of your stupid jealousy," he countered. "What do you want me to say?"

"JEALOUSY? That's what you think this is about? What do you think I'm jealous of? The fact that you're obsessing over a girl you hardly know? I don't understand you at all, Albus. Maybe I should have thrown the book at you instead!" she remarked.

Before Albus could say anything, however, Churchill came marching out of his room. His eyes were darting from Albus' annoyed grimace to Ronnie's flustered appearance.

"What in Merlin's beard is going on here?! Haven't you Gryffindors caused enough trouble for today?" exclaimed Professor Churchill.

"Professor, it wasn't Alex who threw the book! It was me. Please don't punish him for what I did. I'll take the punishment," admitted Ronnie.

Professor Churchill examined Ronnie before comprehending that the truth had been spoken. She and Albus were to report to Hagrid's cabin on Saturday at six o'clock.

_Alex'll be relieved,_ Albus thought, _but what about me?!_

He had done nothing wrong and Ronnie didn't take his blame as well! Before he could protest, an older Hufflepuff girl with brown curly hair and glasses walked into his room urgently and Professor Churchill closed the door, tending to her needs far before the trio's.

At this time, Alex managed to catch up. He still wore a dark expression, angry that he received punishment for trying to be a good friend to both his selfish mates.

"What are you all yelling about?" muttered Alex.

"I- I confessed to throwing the book, Alex," Ronnie said sheepishly. "I'm sorry I even got you into that mess. But don't worry. I explained it to Professor Churchill and you don't have detention anymore."

This brightened Alex's day considerably. "Really? Thank you!"

"Yeah, you must be so glad" muttered Albus.

Alex could feel the tangible tension; he then realized that he had misconstrued Ronnie's words. "Hang on. I don't have detention, but-?"

"Yes, Alex. Albus and I have detention now," confirmed Ronnie. There's the piece Alex was missing; which only made matters worse because he could see the hidden anger behind Albus' eyes. He was not happy about the recent turn of events.

Albus, Ronnie and Alex slowly headed for the Great Hall. Albus now had a collection of reasons to be mad at Ronnie, and he honestly didn't know what to say anymore. A part of him just wanted to talk to James for a good jinx to play on Ronnie, but another part just wanted to put an end to all this; he wanted to be friends. He knew, however, that she wouldn't budge and apologize to him, even though she did to Alex.

_Does she like me?_ Albus thought. She was always complaining about him and Bella, and getting extremely jealous. Maybe it wasn't just about "looking out for him" as she so often declared.

All of a sudden he realized that they made it to the Great Hall and Bella was walking straight at him. Both Isabella and Patricia were walking by her sides like servants, following a few paces before her.

"You!" shrieked Bella pointing straight at Alex. "How dare you throw a book at me?!"

Alex took half a second to register the fact that Bella was accusing him, not Ronnie. He, however, needn't move an inch. Ronnie came to his defence at once.

"Oh, precious Lestrange! I was hoping to have run into you! Just for the record, it was I who threw the book at you, not Alex. So if you want to point that finger, point it at me, you nasty toad!" Ronnie pronounced indignantly.

"Well! You! How dare _you_ throw that book at me?!" Bella shrieked. The following, however, she whispered maliciously, "I could make you wish you were never born."

Ronnie, rather than be frightful as any other rational person would be, merely laughed in Bella's face. "What could you do to me? Turn me into a silver needle? Oh wait! I forget you can't even do that," Ronnie sneered. She enjoyed teasing Bella.

"Oh, believe me. I can hurt you where you least expect it. You see your friend over there? The one so clearly obsessed with me? I can turn him on you in a heartbeat. Can you do that? No? Oh, what a pity it would be if I hurt him," Bella threatened.

To this, Ronnie took personal offense. "Touch Albus ONCE," she whispered, following Bella and making the argument much more private and personal. "And you'll regret you were ever born. There are things you haven't seen, Lestrange, things that would scare even you! Perhaps it'll benefit you, might make you look prettier."

At the mention if his name, Albus tuned in intently. Unfortunately, he hadn't heard Bella's words about being able to manipulate him. He had grown tiresome of all the bickering and attempted to settle the matter at once.

"Girls, girls. We should all just sit down and-"

"What would you know about being prettier? As if you were the epitome of beauty! I've got news for you, pumpkin. You're looking at the best!" Bella declared. She hadn't even noticed that she had cut off Albus mid-sentence. "And as for your threats, if you want to make this a duel, so be it! You'll lose."

"You Gryffindors always think you're better than us Slytherins! But guess what? The greatest wizard of all time was a Slytherin himself!" Isabella taunted, reminiscing on the stories her father would tell her about the good years almost two decades ago.

Patricia, who had also been listening attentively, now joined the conversation. "And what could you have possibly seen that we haven't, you Mudblood!"

Ronnie couldn't believe this. Out of everything Bella had said, she had never gone far enough as to call Ronnie such a foul name. At that moment, at that very moment, Ronnie wanted nothing more than Patricia's head on a silver platter. Dark and malicious as the request was, it's what Ronnie wanted. Albus had also heard this loud and clear. Despite the pedestal that he placed Bella on, even he had to admit he loathed her taste in company at the moment.

"Oh? Did Cambridge take offense to that? That's what you really are, pumpkin! Poor itty, bitty, baby."

And with that, Bella, Patricia, and Isabella turned on their heels in unison and strutted straight to the dungeons.

Ronnie's face was hot and red. She felt more anger than she had ever felt in her life. She didn't feel saddened. She was a Mudblood; there was no denying it. But to bring that up? And in such a foul manner? No. Bella and Patricia had reached the nadir. And Ronnie was not going to let them get away with it.

"They'll regret it. They'll regret it," she chanted underneath her breath. Alex still had his mouth wide open and sending curses at them in his head. Albus took Ronnie's shoulder and vainly attempted to steady her. She had already begun shaking with fury. Ronnie sensed his touched and threw off his hand at once. To this, Albus was displeased.

_I'm trying to help her!_ He thought. _Fine! Have it your way!_

He had heard enough and just wanted to get away, from Ronnie, from Bella, from all of them.

When he arrived to the Gryffindor table, James was waving a letter at him. Albus sat across from James and Rick.

"Here you go, little brother. It's from mum and dad," said James. "I sent them a letter telling them I needed a new broom for Quidditch try-outs. I kind of like having to try out again each year, I get to crush the other kids. Plus my broom broke last year, so now I want the Lightyear 6000! The 6000 is because it has 6 different speeds!"

Albus wasn't listening to him. He was preoccupied opening his letter. He had been waiting for the reply from his parents, and urgently needed to read his father explaining the whole "legacy" issue. He ripped open the envelope, and James must have noticed his anxiety because he snatched it from his hand and ran.

"Hey give me my letter back! Stop!" yelled Albus, running after James along the Gryffindor table. This was not the time to annoy him.

"You were too excited to open this. Let's see what this is about!" yelled James with laughter as he burst through the Great Hall door and started to read the letter.

By the time Albus caught up to him, Professor McGonagall was already in front of him with beamed eyes.

"Mr. Potter, I do not think it is very wise for you and your brother to be running around the castle like this! You should be in the Great Hall safe with the other children -" said Professor McGonagall before James had an outburst.

"What?! What is this? Albus?!" shouted James before he threw the letter on the floor and ran off towards Gryffindor tower, deciding against sticking around for the answer he knew Albus didn't have.

McGonagall looked perplexed and Albus picked up the letter scared of what he was about to read.

"Dear Albus,

Your mother and I are doing fine, and Lily has finally begun to lighten up. As for James, maybe we'll trade him for an owl. Only kidding!

Now, referring to what you heard, I was really hoping you wouldn't. In my youth, a lot of things happened to me of which I did not tell you about. I didn't tell you not because I don't love or trust you, but because I wanted to protect you. All these years, I've put up the best protection I can offer to you and your brother and sister because I'm afraid of losing you. There are a lot of dark wizards out there who certainly hate me, and I don't want them to get to my family. I want to explain more of this to you later, in person. It'll feel right. I'm terribly sorry that you had to find out this way. Please don't be upset.

Love,

Dad"

Albus didn't know what to do. He had so many emotions running through his head that it glued his feet to the floor, as he stood there with a blank face staring at the ground. Professor McGongall asked for the letter and he absentmindedly gave it to her. She read it quickly and looked deeply saddened.

"My dear boy, come with me to my office. I'll get you some tea," said Professor McGonagall as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and started to walk with him to her office.

He was walking through corridors he'd never seen before, and passed an interesting statue from a distance that he wished he could have a better look at. He made a mental note to return to it on his way back to the common room. After about five minutes of pacing, they reached a big gargoyle on the third floor.

"The Lost Diadem," said Professor McGonagall and the gargoyle began twisting to reveal a staircase which both student and Headmistress climbed into until they reached an oak double door and entered her office.

It was a large circular office with another level to it. All around it, Albus saw pictures of sleeping men and women whom he didn't recognize. Some of them were peeking at him, smiling, and he didn't know why. Professor McGonagall was at her desk pouring two cups of tea.

Beyond her desk was a bookcase completely full and very neat, and on the top of the bookcase lay the sorting hat. Professor McGonagall signalled for Albus to come sit in front of her desk when he was done staring all around the room.

"Who are in those portraits?" asked Albus, still looking at the portraits from his seat, trying to avoid having to talk about his father's lies with Professor McGonagall.

"Past headmasters and headmistresses of this castle, two of whom you were named after," said Professor McGongall smiling at him.

Albus knew that he was named after two Hogwarts headmasters, but he never got around to asking his dad about them. He knew that one was in Slytherin, and the other Gryffindor, but that was it. He didn't care much about that now, though, he was preoccupied with the "legacy" matter. He wasn't sure whether to be proud or angry. He sat there drinking his tea quietly.

"You know, your father was a really great student. What a brave young man he was, and still is! So admirable-" said McGonagall proudly, trying to cheer Albus up.

"Admirable for what? He never told me anything about him being a hero. I had to find out from people at school. He's just a-"

"Your father had a good reason for not telling you. He wasn't trying to hurt you," she sympathized. It was true. She still remembered Dumbledore's words when he sent Harry to live with the Dursleys. "Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it in?" she could still remember him say. Yes, she understood Harry's intentions as if they were mirroring Dumbledore's for the exact same reason.

Albus and Professor McGonagall spent a while talking about his father, and it made him feel a bit better. She told him light-hearted stories, like when she used to teach Harry, but there weren't many details.

With nothing else to say, Albus just sat there looking gloom with his tea. It was a little too hot to drink it all at once, so he barely drank much. He set it down on her desk and just stared at it, trying to avoid her eyes. Professor McGonagall took out a piece of parchment and a golden quill.

"You really should write back, Albus. I know he would be upset if you didn't," she said while handing him the parchment and quill.

Albus took them gently, and began to write. He didn't know what he wanted to say but knew he should write something.

"Dear Dad,

Dad, about the rumors , I can't say I'm not upset. I am. I'm extremely hurt that you couldn't have told me all this, whatever this is, yourself. I know you had James and I in mind, but he's pretty beat up about it, too. I guess we'll wait for the holidays. Professor McGonagall was loads of help. She told me stories about your failures in Transfiguration! Hope to see you in a few weeks, Dad.

Love,

Albus

P. S. I think you should write to James. He read the letter and he's even more distraught than I am."

Trying to retain his hands from shaking, the A in his name came out a bit cursive unlike the rest. He trusted Professor McGonagall now and let her read the letter.

"I'm sure he'll like that, and what a nice signature you have," said Professor McGonagall. "Memorable."

Albus didn't think much of it but immediately liked it a lot more than he did when he first wrote it. Professor McGonagall sealed up the letter and offered to send it for him. Albus thanked her for the tea and for her time, and left her office. With a little bit of his stress relieved, he still had three more problems: Ronnie, Bella, and James.

Bella would have to wait, because, at last, he realized there are other things a lot more important. James needed him right now, and even though he didn't want to admit it much, he needed James.

Albus ran to the Gryffindor common room, forgetting about his mental note to pass by the peculiar statue, and quickly said the password. He climbed inside and saw Ronnie with Alex by the fireplace talking; Ronnie was almost in tears. Albus made a quick attempt to avoid their gaze as he walked to the boys' dormitories, this time going into the door for Second Years.

James was sitting on his bed, looking at old photographs of their family; the people in the picture looked so happy. There was no one else in the room; they must have been downstairs. It was a surprise that even Rick wasn't here. Albus waddled over to his bed and gave him a hug which James didn't reject.

"It's all going to be okay," said Albus. "Let's not make a big deal about it right now. We'll see them in a few weeks."

James nodded, and Albus quickly noticed that he needed a few hours before he would be able to formulate coherent questions. With a final hug, Albus left the dormitory and headed for his own.

Albus was running away from a huge monster. It was dark and could hardly be seen. Birds were flying all around them, making the scene beautiful although it was nothing of the sort. It was terrorizing Alex and Ronnie, and Albus didn't know what to do. He jinxed the beast, and grabbed hold of Alex and Ronnie. They were all going to run away but before they could, a round man screamed for help.

Albus woke up.

The room was dim, and Jake was snoring so loud he was surprised it hadn't woken Alex as well.

Albus was sweaty and really scared. What did all these dreams mean? This big creature, monster actually, was roaming around him and he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to tell anyone, because they'd think he was mad. They wouldn't believe him. Surely, asking Taylor Jones if he had any memory of what attacked him would help, but there hasn't been a minute that he wasn't bombarded by a bunch of other students.

Too scared to go back to sleep, Albus decided that he would just start getting ready for class. Today was the first time he'd have Potions with the new professor, and he wasn't sure what to expect. For the past few months, he had been using Potions class to just hang out with Rose and her Ravenclaw friends, Laura, Kara, and Jane. Alex didn't take much part in the discussion, though, since he was trying to teach himself Potions from the textbook he borrowed from the library. Whether or not it helped him was quite obvious. They definitely needed a professor.

A couple of hours passed and Alex and Jake woke up, and Albus was all ready. The disgusted looks that were thrown back and forth between Alex and Jake were ordinary and Albus was quite used to them.

He didn't want to admit to Alex that he was right about him knowing more about his father and his legacy, but he knew that eventually he would question him about it to learn more.

When they met up with Ronnie, her eyes were red and puffy but Albus didn't dare ask why because he already knew. Despite her ability to hold back tears in company, it was a completely different story when she was alone in her dormitory. Not to mention that the other first year girls all thought she was a freak already.

Although he still fancied Bella, he didn't approve of what she said to Ronnie, or rather, what her company said to Ronnie. But he couldn't be one to judge, because he was just as guilty for not defending her. Ronnie didn't even look mad at Albus anymore, just disappointed. He rather had her yelling at him than being as depressed as she looked. It made Albus feel just that much worse.

"Well, it's almost Saturday. Time to bear with whatever detention they have for me," said Ronnie gloomily as she played with her food in the Great Hall. She didn't have much of an appetite.

"Us," corrected Albus. "At least we're going to be together."

Ronnie half-smiled for the first time that day, but it didn't last long because, when they arrived to Potions class, they were completely thrown off guard.

Professor Verana was a short round woman with small eyes and big glasses. Her hair was short and outrageously untidy. She was wearing a black cloak that didn't completely cover her body, and you could see the pants she wore under them. Her feet were so small that Albus was surprised they could support her body.

"Good morning, everybody. My name is Professor Verana. Because of Professor Slughorn's absence, I will be your Potions teacher for the time-being. I hope that you all are ready to begin your fun adventure into the world of Potions!" announced Professor Verana while waving her arms around excitedly.

Albus was biting back a laugh, and Alex was wide eyed but Ronnie stared blankly as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The rest of the class had similar expressions. Rose buried her face in her arms, and Kara and Jane looked just like Alex.

Laura Abel was the first to speak.

"You have got to be kidding me. You are kidding, right? Please tell me this is a joke," giggled Laura and the rest of the class started to laugh. Professor Verana quickly turned red and her fists were shaking.

"This is not a joke young lady, and I will give you a warning. One more outburst and you will be punished severely! Ten points will be taken from Ravenclaw!"

The Ravenclaws of the class sighed and the Gryffindors were sure not to make a comment and lose points as well. Professor Verana asked everyone to take out their books and with a flick of her wands, cauldrons and ingredients were passed out unsupported in mid air.

"You will be making a Deflating Draught today-" said Professor Verana.

"But, Professor," interrupted Alex. "The instructions aren't even in our book."

"That is because it is a second year potion. Which, I assume, you will all be excited to tackle."

"Well, actually, no. This is the first time we're even dealing with potions. Why would we start with something more advanced-?"

"I am the professor, and you will do as I say. The instructions are on the board. No more interruptions. What is your name?"

"Alex Greenfield," he grudgingly reported.

"Well, Mr. Greenfield. I am sure you won't have much trouble with this potion considering how you assume you're so smart trying to correct the professor. Get to work!"

Albus felt bad for Alex, but he didn't know what to say to him. Both of his friends were now in bad moods, and Albus wasn't far from being the same. Trying to make the draught was very aggravating and all of the students were exhausted by the end of the class.

"Ah, Miss York made the perfect Deflating Draught. I am quite impressed," said Professor Verana while patting Jane York on the back. She did it right, but her face showed that she was annoyed. But not more annoyed than Alex who made the worst of all the potions, which exploded half way through class.

Walking out of the class, Albus noticed that he and Ronnie went a whole class without arguing with each other. They weren't exactly on great terms yet, but the way things were going, he knew things would be okay soon. Now that his problem with Ronnie was resolved, or at least well on its way, and he and James were working with dealing with the discovery of their father's legacy, only one problem was left. The thought of it made his insides feel like they were churning and his mind like mere goo.

And it was all because of Bella.


	8. Strange Happenings

The days were getting shorter and the nights seemed endless. Albus' dreams were becoming more intense every night. He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to tell someone before he lost his mind in an infinite abyss.

After waking up three times that night, he decided it was best not to go back to sleep. Sure, it kept him immensely sluggish during class, but he preferred that over his terrible dreams. The last one involved a lot of shattered rock and shrieks.

Albus crept up from his bed and looked out the window. He never really appreciated how beautiful the scenery around Hogwarts was, but at the moment, it was the scenery that scared him the most. All that space, unoccupied, or was it? There were so many places that one could hide, so many places that one could be found. He felt a deep urge within him to go out and look for the monster in his dreams, but where would it be?

_Why on earth would I do that? My parents wouldn't approve of that! He thought._ But, suddenly, he wasn't so sure.

Albus rummaged through his belongings and pulled out a photo album. In it he saw his family in the same picture that James also owned. He flipped a few pages and found a picture that featured Teddy Lupin, his God-brother. His torquiose hair made him stand out the most beside Victoire, Dominique, and Louis Weasley. All part of the Weasley-Potter family tree. He loved visits from all of them and his uncle, Bill, although he didn't think much of his wife, Fleur.

He flipped the page, and there was a picture filled with twenty-five people, the whole Weasley-Potter family.

At the far left, Bill was next to Fleur, with their three children in front of them. Next to them, was George, Albus' uncle, and his wife Angelica, with their children Fred and Roxanne.

Next to George was his brother Charlie, who had no wife and children because he spent all his time training dragons in Romania. He looked quite battered from the scars he attained from the vicious dragons he so adoringly trained. Albus admired his decision, however, admitting that the scars gave Uncle Charlie a daring first-impression.

In the middle stood Albus' grandparents, Molly and Arthur. They both looked wonderfully happy. Arthur had one arm around his son, Percy, whom was with his wife Audrey, and their children Lucy and Molly the second. On the far right were Ron and Hermione, with Hugo and Rose, next to his parents, Ginny and Harry. He and his two siblings, James and Lily, stood with their parents' arms around them.

Albus heard Alex stir in his bed, and he quietly shut the photo album and put it away.

He really missed his family, and couldn't wait to see them on Christmas vacation. He didn't want anyone to know that he missed being home, especially since none of his friends complained about homesickness yet. Then again, they weren't the ones having dreams about an unknown monster terrorizing students within the first months of their arrival.

"Albus?" whispered Alex while rubbing his eyes. Evidently, Albus' attempts to remain silent were in vain.

"Yeah, I'm here. I was just doing a little reading," he lied.

"Oh alright, that's – that's good," yawned Alex before falling back to sleep. Albus grimaced. Alex would likely have no recollection of this trivial conversation come dawn.

The time when Alex and Ronnie would need to know about his dreams, was approaching. For now, though, it wasn't necessary. Besides, he wanted them to be together when he told them. Barely conscious of his actions, Albus climbed back into his four-poster bed and quickly fell back to sleep. Fortunately for him, there weren't any monsters in his dreams for the rest of the night.

"Quidditch try-outs will be held after the winter holidays! Remember, even if you were on the team last year, it is mandatory to try out again," announced Penelope Toyle, a sixth year girl with long auburn hair in a pony-tail, and livid chocolate brown eyes, to the Gryffindor common room

Everyone was talking animatedly and Albus could see James and Rick miming the catch of a Quaffle.

"So you guys SERIOUSLY won't try out with me?" pleaded Ronnie. When both boys shook no, she continued. "Regardless, I'm still trying out. Will you at least come and support me?"

"Of course we'll come and support you, Ronnie!" answered Alex. "I just wouldn't try out myself because I know I'm not gonna be any good. I'll just be making a fool of myself!"

The trio laughed, but Albus was actually a little upset that he wasn't trying out. It's not that he desperately craved the opportunity, internally hoping that by one stroke of luck he'll make it, but rather because it was expected of him, of his family name. Maybe one day he would ask Ronnie to teach him how to fly better. Maybe then he'll try out. As it stands, he'll just stick firmly to the ground.

The trio walked to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class and had a great time with the Hufflepuffs. Professor Belikov taught them the Wand-Lighting charm, "Lumos". He told them it would come in handy plenty of times throughout their lives, even if it didn't seem very powerful. Alex and Johnny kept using the spell in the corridors when it wasn't necessary, purely because it was a lot of fun.

The Gryffindors then went to a tiresome class, History of Magic. Professor Binns droned about goblin rebellions and didn't seem to notice that half the class fell asleep. Albus and Ronnie knew they could depend on Alex for copying his notes in the common room later. Class time, however, with the languid zeitgeist that permeated the air, called for a peaceful nap.

Albus actually looked forward to Herbology because of Professor Longbottom. He is a family friend and it's hard for Albus not to call him Neville in front of everyone. Nonetheless, out of respect, he tries.

Neville never seems to bore his students and always has high spirits to share. He would excitedly tell stories about The Leaky Cauldron where he lived with his wife, Hannah. He has a seven year old daughter, Alice. Alice would come over once and a while and she would spend most of her time playing with Lily.

"Good morning, class! I hope you guys are all having a good day," welcomed Neville.

"Good morning, Professor Longbottom," everyone greeted at different times.

"Today, we will be learning about Honking Daffodils. After learning all about Devil's Snare I thought it'd be nice to tone it down a bit for today's lesson," he explained as he walked around the greenhouse passing a honking daffodil to each student. "Before we start, however, it is most appropriate that you should all be fully awake. And so, before we move on, let's repeat the first lesson about Devil's Snare!" he proposed and the class groaned in discontent.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare. It's deadly fun, but will sulk in the sun," the class muttered in a monotone voice. It seemed that Professor Longbottom had an infatuation for that particular rhyme and, quite honestly, the students had grown weary of repeating it several times every lesson.

"Good!" Neville exclaimed. Through the tone, he was pleased that the students remembered the key to dealing with the vicious plant.

Some of the daffodils were honking very loudly. Meanwhile, a large amount were just moderately loud, and some sounded really weak. Albus, Ronnie and Alex all got weak daffodils and it didn't go unnoticed to them. Albus immediately sympathized for the poor plant and could see the strain it was going through.

"Nev- I mean, Professor Longbottom," he called. "Our daffodils are hardly honking. They seem very weak."

"Yeah, I know. I've noticed it, too. They aren't the only plants that are growing weaker. When I came in a few nights ago, the door was reduced to smithereens and plants were all over the place. The honking daffodils were lucky, though. They weren't nearly as damaged as some of the others," explained Neville with a gloomy face.

"That's odd. Isn't there anything we can do to help?"

"Well I suppose, but it'll take a lot of recovery considering how much damage was made. I just wish I had some water from the Healing Springs," said Neville with a child-like grin.

"Wait – the what?!" asked Albus so loudly that it caught everyone's attention.

"It's a myth, actually. No truth to it. They say there are springs of water that can heal anything and anyone. It'd be really helpful to my plants. None of them would ever die," said Neville with an innocent expression.

"Nor would anyone die if there was such a thing," added Alex, very interested.

"Technically, yes. But there is no reason to believe in all that. If there was such a thing, I'm pretty sure someone would have found it already!" said Neville and most of the class turned their attention away from the conversation, losing interest. Neville then walked over to help some students examine the honking daffodils that actually honked.

"You know, he is right, though. If it was real, someone would have found it by now," commented Ronnie.

"Just because someone hasn't publicized it, doesn't mean no one's found it. They could be hiding it," remarked Alex.

"I guess, but I doubt it. No one would have much of a reason to hide it," said Ronnie. "Oh, wait-"

"It doesn't even matter much, does it? It's not like we'd be able to find it. Plus we're in Hogwarts. We can't just leave!" said Albus, a little irritated at the waste of time his friends were spending on a children's tale.

"No one said we're going to. Why are you so interested? Then again, you do need some mental healing considering your attraction to Lestrange," mocked Ronnie, retaining that cold edge.

Albus decided to ignore the comment; he knew it was all just playful fun and in reality she wasn't talking bad about him, just Bella.

After class, while everyone was leaving, Alex told Albus and Ronnie that he'd catch up with them later. Rather than leaving, they stayed waiting at the back of the greenhouse. Barely hearing the string of questions Alex was about to unleash on the Professor.

"Professor, do you believe in the Healing Springs?" enquired Alex eagerly.

"There isn't much of a reason to believe in it, is there? Then again, there isn't much of a reason not to believe in it either. I've always thought there is some truth to every ludicrous fairy tale," confessed Professor Longbottom.

"You're right, and it'd be really helpful if it was real."

"Well of course it would be helpful! It could heal anything. As long as the water doesn't keep something alive for longer than it is meant to, then there wouldn't be a problem with it. Nothing is meant to live forever. Other than that, I think it'd be really useful," he explained.

"Exactly, so why doesn't someone try to find it?" he queried, curious to humanity's negations to finding a cure to mortality.

"It's not a very popular legend. It only started about ten years ago. Other than that, no one even knew where to look."

"Is there anything else about the legend, though? Any hints or clues?"

"Not really, other than that the Healing Springs connects to a past headmaster whom Albus is actually named after, Albus Dumbledore. I can't see how though, since he died before the myth even started."

"Thanks for everything, Professor! I'll see you later!" shouted Alex as he ran out of the greenhouse.

Alex silently walked out of the greenhouse, conscious that Ronnie and Albus were at his heels. Having heard the entire conversation, Ronnie wasn't too on board, but Albus was even more sceptical.

_The Healing Springs? Where could they be? How could they be real? No, there was no way_, summarized Albus.

Alex was still too quiet for Albus' taste, but silence is better than madness. They just couldn't exist; they just couldn't.

Alex remained quite calm after the heap of information he acquired from Professor Longbottom. Albus and Ronnie were both in on the secret, but it seemed too awkward to sporadically bring up during light conversation. Albus retained his doubts and Ronnie barely paid a second thought to the silent, unspoken war between her two friends.

Saturday ran rather smoothly. The trio woke up a little later than usual because of the day off and caught up on homework while eating breakfast in the Great Hall. To Ronnie's pleasure, obvious by her comments, Bella wasn't anywhere to be seen.

After a while, they returned to the common room to relax a bit and just talk. Albus came through the portrait hole and joined his friends on a couch. Alex and Ronnie were talking about Quidditch, and, even though she was trying to shrug it off, Albus could tell that she was noticeably a little worried about the detention that was coming up. She would look at the clock every few minutes and quietly sigh.

Albus was more than glad that he and Ronnie were on speaking terms, and that everything was finally starting to seem fine. It occurred to him however, that Bella was still a problem that he wasn't even close to solving. Whenever Albus had something going right for him, something else had to be bad.

Although he wanted to dwell on those thoughts some more, it was time for Albus and Ronnie to start getting ready to go to detention. Detention with Hagrid didn't seem at all bad; surely not as terrible as it would be with Filch.

"Ronnie, we have to get going or we'll be late," said Albus.

"Oh, really? I didn't even notice. How the time flew by," lied Ronnie.

"Yeah, don't forget your cloak it's definitely going to be a little chilly."

"While you guys are at detention, I think I'll head to the library to research a bit on the Healing Springs," said Alex coolly.

Albus wanted to vote against the idea, but no sooner had the objection entered his mind realised that what Alex did on his own time was his own business. And so, Albus gave a nonchalant shrug and motioned Ronnie towards the portrait hole.

Both Ronnie and Albus waddled down to Hagrid's hut, aware that, although they were on speaking terms, the core of their feud was yet to be resolved, if it even had a proper resolution.

"Well 'ello Albus. I 'avent seen you around! I've missed yeh," said Hagrid while he hugged Albus tightly. "And who is yer little friend?"

"This is Ronnie! Ronnie, Hagrid. Hagrid, Ronnie," introduced Albus pleasantly.

"Well 'ello there. So now, wha' did yeh two get up to that yeh have detention? Nothing too serious I hope," said Hagrid, a little too enthusiastic for detention.

"It's not that serious actually. It's just that I threw a book at this girl named Bella Lestrange, and Albus got in trouble with me. I feel really bad about it all actually," lied Ronnie, subtly. Though perhaps she regretted getting caught, she did not for one second regret throwing the book and watching it land on Bella's enormous head. The look on Bella's face was worth the consequences Ronnie was now facing.

"We won't be doing anything too 'orrible tonight. We're actually just going to go into the forest an' look fer a Blast-Ended Skrewt tha' ran away from me hut," said Hagrid. "I miss him terribly and I want yeh to meet 'em. He's really sweet; a misunderstood little creature," he continued sympathetically.

"I hope we get to find him then, Hagrid!" said Albus enthusiastically, although his father Harry warned him beforehand that Hagrid had a very different perspective with creatures than most people did.

Albus, Ronnie, and Hagrid all crept into the Forbidden Forest with large lanterns. Albus and Ronnie had to share one, though, because Hagrid said he lost the third one he owned. Hagrid's dog, Fang, accompanied them, but Albus felt more protected by the half-giant than by the dog. Ronnie and Fang were close together and seemed to have liked each other quickly.

"The Blast-Ended Skrewt is going to be about ten feet long, but don't be scared," Hagrid informed.

Albus and Ronnie both kept closely together as they walked through the forest. It seemed like an hour had gone by and they were all still walking, searching for a creature that they'd never seen before.

"It might be a little easier if we split up for a while. If we get lost, we'll send some sparks into the air so you can find us," requested Ronnie. "No offense but I'm really getting tired and I want to get this over with."

"Tha's fine. Stay close by here, though. Don't wander off now," said Hagrid.

"We won't. Don't worry about us," said Albus. But inside, he really was a little scared of what wandered through the forest.

Albus and Ronnie walked around aimlessly and didn't notice how far they wandered. The trees were beginning to thin out, and, hanging from a tree, they found a burnt Gryffindor cloak. Not even ten feet away from it was the tail of a large creature sticking out from a bush. Ronnie checked nervously in the shrub only to find what she guessed was the Blast-Ended Skrewt. It had scratches all over its body and looked pretty beat up. Near the spot, Albus noticed a variety of animal prints.

"Did a mob of animals attack him? These look like wolf prints, but these look like horse's, and over here are bears'," Ronnie examined. "We need to call Hagrid right now."

With that, Ronnie used a charm that made sparks fly out of her wand. From a distance they could hear Fang howling, and Hagrid running towards them. When he got there, he was saddened by the state of the Blast-Ended Skrewt. He picked it up and started to walk off with it. Ronnie didn't hesitate to quickly follow behind Hagrid but Albus stayed for a moment, analyzing the foot prints.

They were scattered around, and that's how he knew there was a fight. But then all the footprints went in a line together towards a type of path. It must have taken a mob of strong animals to bring down this creature, and he wanted to know why. Albus quickly grabbed the burnt cloak and ran off to join Ronnie, Fang and Hagrid.

This was sure to deliver even more nightmares.


	9. The Statue

Everyone's favorite time around the castle was during the last months before The New Year. Halloween was always a fun time, and, with Christmas holidays drawing near, excitement was surely taking its course.

However, even with the jolly atmosphere, Albus couldn't help but worry about what happened when he went to the Forbidden Forest. Ever since the experience, Ronnie and Albus had an unspoken agreement that the arguing was over.

On top of that, Albus was still trying to recover from this discovery he's making of his father. It brought him and James a little closer, but they haven't talked about it at all. Although everyone else was getting excited to go home for the Christmas holidays, it was nerve-wrecking for the brothers.

He received a letter from his father telling him that Luna and her family were coming to stay with them for the Christmas holidays. He didn't share it with James yet, mostly because he didn't want to be put in the position where he would have to talk about their family. He didn't want to talk about his father.

From what Professor McGonagall had told him over the past few weeks, Dad defeated a dark lord, saved the world, and became a well known hero. Yet, all his life, he failed to tell his children about it.

It was likely that even though Albus and James now knew, his parents probably haven't told Lily. That just makes everything a whole lot more awkward. Albus truly missed his family but he was afraid things would never be the same between them.

The days that followed consisted of trying to figure out what exactly happened at the forest. Even after telling Alex, the pieces just didn't fit together.

"Well, Hagrid told me this morning that the Blast-Ended Skrewt wasn't dead. It woke up last night but it's very weak. It can't do anything but at least it's alive," said Albus.

"But what could have attacked that big of an animal and keep it unconscious for so long?!" inquired Alex.

At that, everyone around them in the Great Hall began to stare.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Ana Cooper wide-eyed having overheard them from next to Albus.

"Maybe we should go to the common room. It'd be a bit more private," whispered Ronnie, and the three left evading the stares they were receiving.

When they reached the common room, it was completely empty. Everyone seemed to be out at Hogsmeade, or simply around the castle.

"I think the thing that bothers me the most is the burnt Gryffindor cloak we found. Why was someone in the forest?" questioned Ronnie.

"Well, who do we know that is out every night," said Alex and looked at Albus.

"You think Webster is behind this?" said Albus.

"I'm not saying he did it, but he isn't very trustworthy, is he?"

"He's just a first-year. I doubt he's capable of knocking out a Blast-Ended Skrewt. Would you be able to do that? Plus, around the Skrewt was a variety of animal prints."

Alex nodded. Ronnie then added "Maybe he just made a bunch of animals angry and made them want to jump him."

A few students entered through the portrait hole, so the trio had to continue their discussion in a hushed manner. They didn't want anyone else to overhear their conversation.

"Are we going to tell anyone about this?" asked Alex.

"No, I don't think we can. They will think we're making things up. We're only first-years. Plus, McGonagall already has a lot on her plate without having to worry about this. She still hasn't even found Professor Slughorn," said Ronnie.

It didn't occur to Albus just how much McGonagall had going on. She has to find Slughorn, find out what happened to Taylor Jones, and take care of the rest of the students. He really didn't want to worry her with something that was probably actually just nothing. It could have just been a herd of angry animals, nothing more.

"Well, we at least need to tell Johnny about it. Just so he can keep an eye out," Alex suggested.

"Okay, that's fine. I'm going to go visit Hagrid and see how the Skrewt is doing. Maybe he knows what's happened to it by now," said Albus, and he left the common room to go to Hagrid's hut.

Albus was just leaving the castle and heading down the hill to the hut when he saw Jake Webster running out of the Forbidden forest. He didn't even stop. He just kept running into the castle.

_So it was true, then! Jake Webster was the cause of the Skrewt being beat up! Maybe, Webster learned to control animals and forced them to attack the Skrewt_, Albus assumed.

He admitted to himself that he was going out of control with his thoughts, but Jake Webster surely wasn't someone to trust and he was just too suspicious. He wanted to turn back and go to Ronnie and Alex, but he needed to check on Hagrid and the Skrewt first.

"Who's 'ere?" asked Hagrid when Albus knocked the door.

"It's me, Albus. Hagrid, open up," he called.

"Sorry, Albus. It's jus' I don' want any unwanted guests seein' the Skrewt," said Hagrid as he opened the door and rushed him in.

"Has it been getting any better?" asked Albus.

"Unfortunately, no. It seems t' be getting worse actually," answered Hagrid sorrowfully.

"I think Jake Webster is the reason for all of this!" Albus blurted out.

"Who is that?" asked Hagrid. "I don' think a student would be capable of doin' such things."

"He's one of my roommates. He's always out late, he's rude, and I just saw him running out of the Forbidden Forest! He's a bad kid. He's evil!"

"So he's a trouble-maker, doesn' mean he's evil. Listen to y'self, Albus. I don' think he could 'ave done this to my Skrewt," said Hagrid as he led Albus to where he was keeping the Skrewt.

Fang was sitting next to it, and the Skrewt was barely moving. Its eyes were closed, but the subtle rise and fall of its chest indicated life. It was lying on Hagrid's bed, covering the entire thing, with its sting hanging off the side.

It looked like a vicious creature. It was hard to believe any regular animal could have done this to it, even if it was a herd of animals. It was eerie to see a creature like this look so vulnerable, so drained.

"There's just no other explanation, Hagrid. We also found a Gryffindor cloak in the forest. It just all fits together," said Albus.

"Just like yer father," Hagrid chuckled. "I know you aren' goin' to give this up easy. Please just try t' stay out of trouble."

"I'm not trying to get into trouble. I don't even want to be involved in this mess. I'm just letting you know what I think."

"Here, come have some tea. I bought some at Hogsmeade today."

"Okay," said Albus. Since it was bought, he knew it was safe to drink. Albus never did like Hagrid's cooking. Not that he would tell him that, though.

When they sat down Albus couldn't help but ask, "Hagrid, do you know how the search for Professor Slughorn's going?"

"Yes, I'm a part of tha' search. There hasn' been much progress and it's already been a few months. It's terrifying, really. But there haven' been many signs of dark wizards or witches around. This disappearance is really causing mayhem, not only here, but at the Ministry of Magic."

"What's going on at the Ministry?"

"You see Albus, this disappearance is causing assumptions that dark witches and wizards are beginning to grow in power again. Every time there has been a wizarding war, it all begins like this. Disappearances, killings, attacks, it's happening again. Tha' attack on Taylor Jones din' make things better either, I can tell you tha'."

That's when it all clicked in Albus' head. The attack on Taylor Jones, he saw the monster. It left him all scratched up and weak, but not dead. The attack on the Skrewt, it was attacked but not dead. There truly was a monster at Hogwarts.

"Hagrid, I've seen a monster here before!" screamed Albus without thinking.

"Wha' did ye say? A monster? Impossible!"

"But it's true, Hagrid. I saw a monster the night that Taylor Jones was attacked. It must have been the thing that attacked the Skrewt!"

"Now Albus-"

"Now that I come to think of it, Jake Webster wouldn't like Taylor Jones. He's a prefect, and he could catch him breaking the rules. Of course he'd want to take him out! It all makes sense now."

"Albus, please stop getting out of hand. Don't blame tha' poor boy for all of this. An' this talk abou' a monster, don't go around telling people tha'. It's just going to make matters worse."

"I'm not trying to make things worse, but you can't tell me these pieces don't match up!"

"You might 'ave seen wrong. There are many explanations for what's been going on. Don't become one of those people who start to go crazy an' come up with wacko ideas, eh? Yer just going to be scaring everybody. There's no way a dark wizard could be lurking abou' without the auror office knowing."

"And why is that? Because my father is an auror and he is some hero?! So much of a hero that he couldn't even tell his own children!" screamed Albus.

Albus got up, and stormed out of Hagrid's hut. He didn't think about what he was doing, but he just ran out. He could hear Hagrid yelling at him to wait, but he just kept running. He never intended to tell anyone what he'd seen, and now that he shares it with Hagrid, he treats him like he's crazy. The mention of the auror office just enraged Albus even more.

"Shouldn't have said tha'," Hagrid sighed, back in the hut.

As he ran, he let his feet take him to security, but he ended up in an unknown corridor. He stopped immediately when he realized he was lost.

There was no one around, and it made him feel like he wasn't supposed to be there. He looked around and there it was, the unusual statue he'd seen back when he was with McGonagall going to her office. He never did come back to check it out, and now was a good time. He needed to be alone, and he needed to cool down.

As he approached the statue, he realized it was in a separate room of its own. He walked down the corridor into the entrance of where the statue was, and he entered a huge circular room.

The walls of the room were engraved with flames all around. Along with the flames were musical notes. The statue itself was a lot bigger than Albus originally thought it was. The statue was at least 10 times taller than him. It was in the middle of the room, a huge bird with its wings spread out as if about to take flight.

The statue was on top of a huge block. On it, it said, "In Memory Of Fawkes, The Phoenix".

So it wasn't just a bird. It was a phoenix. Had the phoenix died so tragically that it needed a memorial? That couldn't be it, because phoenixes are immortal. Since Albus didn't know who this Fawkes was, he didn't pay much mind to it. Regardless, the room was beautiful, the statue was beautiful, and it all put Albus in a very pleasant mood.

The room had torches all around the wall, but all of them were off. This room seemed deserted, and there was a lot of dirt around the statue.

As he walked out from the room, he found his way to a corridor that he recognized. After a few minutes of walking, he heard a deafening noise and began to run.

He spat the password at the fat lady and nearly jumped through the portrait hole into the common room. He was scared that the monster was back, and he didn't want to be its next victim.

He walked over to Alex and Ronnie panting, and before they could ask him what happened, he saw Taylor Jones.

Without even discussing it with his friends, Albus walked over to ask Taylor Jones if he had any recollection of what happened to him, and what his symptoms were. Maybe he could get some proof of the monster and get Hagrid to believe him. More importantly, so he could have a reason to report it and keep everyone in the castle safe.

But right then, Taylor Jones collapsed.


	10. Discoveries

Right before him, Taylor Jones hit the floor as everyone in the Gryffindor common room gasped. A few kids immediately ran to get help, and Jones' friends came to his aid. Albus stood there frozen, confused, and scared.

Taylor Jones wasn't speaking, his pupils turned microscopic so you could only really see a pool of blue in his eyes. Tracy Edwards checked his heart and it was still beating. "He's still breathing!" she screamed while a flood of tears ran down her face.

"Not dead," Albus thought. "Thank goodness he's not dead,"

It took a few moments for Neville to come through the portrait hole accompanied by Madame Pomfrey.

She didn't ask anyone what happened, she just had Neville pick him up, and they scurried off. Everyone made sure to get out of their way as they went through this process. Alex and Ronnie were still by the couch, staring in shock, very similar to everyone else.

Albus didn't know what to feel, or think. He started walking off slowly to the dormitories. Zoning out on the world, he couldn't hear anyone, not even Alex calling out his name behind him.

All Albus could think about was that he was right. Taylor Jones and the Blast-Ended Skrewt had a connection. Jones had just entered the next phase of whatever they were going through.

Alex grabbed his shoulder, and stopped him. That's when he was taken out of thought, and suddenly the outside world was coming back to him.

Everyone looked scared, tears were running down Taylor Jones' friends. Tracy Edwards evidently left to be with him at the hospital wing.

It seemed as thought Ronnie suddenly appeared next to Albus when she quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

"I have something to tell you. The both of you," spatted Albus.

"Albus, please, calm down a bit. Come sit," guided Alex. The trio then sat on a couch next to the fire place. Majority of the Gryffindors went up to their dorms to discuss their theories as to what happened.

Albus sat staring into the fire, shocked. He did believe the conspiracy before, but watching Jones collapse so suddenly proved to him that there was definitely something wrong going on. He had no doubt about it.

"Albus, tell us what happened!" demanded Ronnie.

"I visited Hagrid, the Skrewt was alive but clearly drained of any strength. But just likes Jones, still alive. The thing that bothered me though was that on my way to Hagrids I saw Jake Webster running out of the Forbidden Forest," recounted Albus.

"I knew it! I told you!" shouted Alex.

"This isn't exactly a good thing though, is it?!" screamed Ronnie.

"Let me finish!" shouted Albus, and the two went quiet. "He just kept running, and after I told Hagrid that it was him causing all the trouble, he didn't believe me,"

"It is kind of hard to believe, but the truth will come out sooner or later. Do you think we should go to McGonagall about this?" asked Ronnie.

"I don't know what we should do. I wanted to ask Jones if he could remember what attacked him. We need to find this monster," said Albus.

"But what exactly would we do if we did find this monster? We've been here for a few months, yes we know some spells, but we aren't up for actual fighting," said Alex.

Albus spent time wondering where the monster could be hiding, but never about what he would do if he found it. So he strayed from answering Alex's question directly.

"Christmas break is coming up, I don't want to bother McGonagall with this right now. Let's wait until after our vacations to tell her," Albus pitched.

Alex and Ronnie agreed with the motion, and decided it was time for them all to go to bed.

But before departing, Ronnie stopped Albus. "You know what the only good thing about all this is?"

"What?" asked Albus. What in Merlin's beard was going through her head? Nothing about this was good.

"You're focusing on more important things, and stopped obsessing over Bella,"

"Goodnight" said Albus very annoyed.

Ronnie just laughed as she went up the stairs to the girls dormitories. Alex and Albus went to theirs, and got into bed quickly. It had been a long night for everyone, especially Albus.

As hard as it was to admit though, Ronnie was right. He had stopped talking about Bella constantly. Even stopped thinking about her. Ever since their last encounter, he's been too preoccupied that he feels as though he hasn't even seen her for weeks.

It was no matter though, because there were more important things going on. It wasn't until Albus was barely awake did he realize that he forgot to mention the statue he saw. "It wasn't important though," he thought to himself just before he drifted to sleep.

Albus was running through a haze, not knowing where he was going. The world seemed to be spinning, and it suddenly took hault. About twenty feet away from him, he could only see what he made out to be two large frames...

... and then he woke up.

"Albus, if you don't get ready soon we'll be late for class!" yelled Alex.

"Our first class is potions, I'm not in a rush to see Professor Verana," whined Albus.

Alex laughed and then left the room to meet up with Ronnie and wait for Albus down stairs.

While Albus was getting ready, he tried to remember what he dreamt about. He didn't have much recollection, but he could remember that it wasn't a nightmare. That was a relief.

It wasn't until he was about to leave, that Albus noticed that Jake Webster had already left the dormitory. He didn't seem like the type to get to class early.

Albus wanted to question him, but he needed more proof. He also had no idea what he would say. Albus was never the kind of person to get involved in situations that didn't exactly involve him, but this was starting to. He then went off to meet his friends before he kept them waiting too long.

"I'm sorry to say I'm not very impressed by the very little progress that we've been making in this class," declared Professor Verana. "Or shall I say, that you've been making?"

The classroom had changed over the past few months that they've had Verana. She displayed pictures of unrelated material on the walls that were supposed to be "funny" such as pixies telling jokes, or ogres playing Quidditch.

The supplies was out of order, and many bottles and potions were broken and spilled. However, Verana made no effort to clean any of it up.

As time went by, Verana also kept getting sloppier and sloppier herself. It seemed that she put on an act the first month, and slowly became more and more unprofessional. Where did McGonagall get this lady, Albus thought.

Everyone quit arguing with Verana, even Alex gave up on trying to get a real lesson out of her. She was in no shape or form, a good teacher. Because of her lack of teaching, it basically felt like there was no teacher.

So potions class was what it began as, a place where Albus could catch up with Rose and the rest of the Ravenclaws.

"Have you guys heard what happened?" asked Ronnie.

Rose, Laura and Kara all nodded with worried looks. Jane looked really sad though.

"Are you okay?" asked Ronnie.

"Jane saw for herself what was happening.." explained Rose.

"I had to go to the hospital wing to send Madame Pomfrey a message from Professor Churchill, and there I saw him, laying down looking very pale with bloodshot eyes. Madame Pomfrey had a team of witches helping her get him ready to send to St. Mungos. I overheard them say he is dying," recounted Jane. "Don't go around telling people though, it's his personal business,"

The small group of friends didn't say anything, just looked at eachother and the floor in silence.

"His poor family, Chrismas vacation is next week and he'll be spending it at St. Mungos," said Alex.

"I'm sure they'll spend it with him there," said Kara.

After hearing the news of Taylor Jones' state, Albus wasn't able to enjoy the time he had to spend with his friends during their free period. In his next class, Transfiguration, Albus seemed to have been captivated by Bella again now that he was around her again, but went back to being sorrowful in Charms. He didn't even take part in informing Johnny on everything that was happening.

By the time their classes were over with, the trio was depressed. From hearing about Taylor Jones and talking about Taylor Jones, they had no idea what to think anymore.

Half way to the Gryffindor common room, Alex told his friends he was going off to the library. Alex was the only one who hadn't given up on the Healing Springs, and had a few more books in mind to finding details about it.

"Do you really want to spend your last day at Hogwarts in the library? You do remember that we are leaving for vacation right," reminded Albus.

"Much more reason as to why I need to go now! I hope to find at least one book that will help. I'll be able to read it over the break," explained Alex.

"Have fun then," said Ronnie with a light smile.

It wasn't that Albus and Ronnie didn't approve of Alex's curiousity, but they weren't completely thrilled about it either. Plus all the time he was spending alone in the library made them feel bad.

"Why don't we follow him? Surprise him or something," pitched Ronnie.

"Sure! We'll be able to help him find a book afterwards,"

Albus and Ronnie started too late, and couldn't find Alex. However, they knew he was going to the library so they just made their trip there.

Madame Prince the librarian greeted the two as they walked in, but they still couldn't see Alex.

As they looked around a bit, they found Johnny looking through a couple of books.

"Hey, do you know where Alex is?" asked Ronnie.

"Erm - nope, I - I can't say I do," said Johnny nervously.

"Uh okay.." awkwardly replied Ronnie.

Right then, Alex showed up with three medium sized boxes.

"Johnny they've finally came-" said Alex. "What - what are you guys doing here?!"

"We were just going to come help you look for a book, what are you doing?" asked Albus.

"What's in those boxes?!" yelled Ronnie.

"You guys - I can't tell you!" said Alex.

"Why can't you?" asked Albus.

"Fine - it won't be much of a surprise now anyway. These are your Christmas presents. I was going to give them to you guys on the train tomorrow," explained Alex.

"I want mine now! Wow I didn't even know we were exchanging gifts!" said Ronnie. "I wrote you guys something, so I'll give them to you tomorrow,"

"I got you guys something too," said Johnny with a smile.

Albus seemed to be the only one who didn't have anything to offer his friends. Too preoccupied with all the attacks, family problems, and Bella. He felt really and had a day to figure out what he could give his friends.

"Yeah, I do too," he lied.

"So do you want yours now or tomorrow?" asks Alex as he gave Ronnie her present.

"I'll wait," said Albus as Ronnie opened her present.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you!" yelled Ronnie, which caused Madame Prince to shush them. Inside the box was golden embroided Quidditch gear. "How much did this cost you?!"

"Don't worry about it. Really it's nothing," humbly said Alex.

So Alex was rich? Truthfully now thinking about it, Albus didn't know much about Alex's not Ronnie's home lives. There still seemed to be a lot more to learn about his bestfriends.

"Wait so have you just been planning these presents the whole time? Or have you been actually researching," asked Ronnie as she tried on her new Quidditch gear.

"Half of both," laughed Alex. "But now I can devote the rest of the day to looking for a book. Otherwise I'll have to look in my library at home,"

"Well we will help you then. Where should we look?" asked Albus.

"Anywhere really. I was thinking of some history books since Professor Longbottom told me the legend started a decade or so ago," said Alex.

"Alright then, let's do this!" exclaimed Ronnie now fully geared up. This caused Madame Prince to shush them again.

The four of them split up looking for a book, a few of them had some mention of the Healing Springs, but no details. The most they could find is that no one had found it. What a help that was.

An hour passed by and they were still looking for information, using their last day at Hogwarts before break to research. The upside to this was that no one else was in the library anymore so they had their privacy.

"I found something," said Ronnie.

"About the springs? Please tell me theirs a map in there," joked Alex.

"Nope, not about the springs," said Ronnie flatly, which caused her friends to give her confused looks. "Listen to this, 'During the second wizarding war in which Harry Potter defeated Lord Voldemort, many of his followers (also known as Death Eaters) were deceased as well. Including his most trusted follower, mass murderer Bellatrix Lestrange. She was killed by Molly Weasley in her attempt to protect her children. No word of Bellatrix Lestrange's husband Rodolphus. The Lestrange line was supposed to have ended until it was discovered that they have one child,"

"You can't be thinking-" started Albus.

"I told you!" yelled Ronnie. "Bella is evil! It's in her blood,"


	11. Train Tracks

"I knew the name sounded familiar," asserted Alex. "I can't believe I forgot her from the books of the first and second Wizarding War!"

"It seems as though Bella's mother was an evil murderer, and you still claim that she is such a saint," teased Ronnie.

Albus didn't think she was a saint anymore, but he didn't have strong negative feelings towards her either. He liked her, and all of this was shocking.

"Wait. That says she died in the second war. That was like 20 years ago! Bella can't be that lady's daughter," he argued.

"Um- I wouldn't be surprised if Bella lied about her age. She's probably disguised and is here to murder us all!" yelled Ronnie which made Madame Prince ask the four of them to leave the library, even though it was empty.

_She just wanted time alone_, Albus thought.

He had heard before that Madame Prince supposedly had a relationship with Filch. As they left, they all decided to go to The Great Hall for lunch.

The conversation continued and Alex added, "as preposterous as it sounds, I do think you should stay away from her, Albus. You're from a famous family and she's from an infamous family."

"You don't have any proof, though!" snapped Albus.

"Why don't you guys just ask her?" requested Johnny.

Everyone looked at him as though this was the worst possible idea. They were all dying to know, but asking Bella herself would be a terrible idea. Who knows how she would react.

"Bella's a very mean person. I'd rather we not try to talk to her about this," commented Alex. "Agreed?"

Albus and Ronnie nodded. Johnny added "Suit yourselves" with a shrug.

The trio went to the Gryffindor table, and Johnny went to the Hufflepuff table to sit with Pagan Cowell.

A few minutes into their feast, Professor McGonagall stood up.

"I am so proud of all of you for being brave during this troublesome time at Hogwarts. I hope you all have a wondrous holiday break, and please continue to focus on your school work once you return. That is all, and happy Christmas!" she announced to the Great Hall. Everyone clapped excitedly.

"Have you thought about telling McGonagall yet?" asked Alex.

"I think we just need something else," confessed Albus.

"Oh, like proof?" joked Ronnie. "I'm sure it'll all be okay."

After the feast, everyone returned to their common rooms. Whether they were doing some last minute packing or saying goodbye to their friends, they were definitely busy.

No one was as busy as Albus, though. He had to leave his friends in the common room, and stayed up in his dormitory. Some "last minute packing", he persuaded his friends. In reality, he was getting some last minute presents.

It was way too late to order anything. Ronnie had already written letters, so what was left for him? He rummaged through his things and could only find quills and paper.

Maybe it was the stress, or pure creativity finally hit him, but whatever it was, it got him to start drawing. He was never great at drawing, but he was decent. He drew himself, Ronnie, and Alex, the two best friends he made this year. Then he drew the trio along with Johnny sitting underneath their favorite tree. They weren't the best drawings, but it was apparent that he put a lot of effort into making them.

Lastly, he drew his family, kind of like a family photo. He drew himself with his siblings and parents, happy like they used to be. How he hoped they would stay. Drawing took all his stress away, and he seemed to have forgotten all his troubles. Even thinking of his family as he drew them didn't bother him or make him any more nervous for tomorrow.

Before he knew it, Alex walked in which must have meant it was time to go to bed. Albus hid the drawings in his bag before Alex could notice them.

Surprisingly, even Jake Webster came to bed at the right time. His shoes were soiled with mud, and he wasn't wearing a cloak, but he just ignored Albus and Alex and hopped into bed.

"It's pretty cold. Why don't you have a cloak?" asked Albus.

"Because I don't feel like wearing it."

"Or because you lost it in the Forbidden Forest!"

"How do you know!" snapped Webster whose eyes darted at Albus.

"Because we found it," said Alex as he threw the burnt cloak at Jake Webster.

"You better not be the reason for what happened to Taylor Jones or that Blast Ended Skrewt!" Albus accused.

"Yeah, sure. Blame me. I couldn't care less," said Webster as he closed the curtains in his four poster bed.

Alex patted Albus on the back and whispered, "He's not worth you getting angry."

Albus couldn't help the anger, though. All the clues pointed to Jake Webster, and he acts like nothing matters. It was unlike Albus to have confronted Webster in the first place, so he just left it at that. He wanted so badly to report him to McGonagall now that he knows the cloak did belong to him.

Alex got into bed and almost immediately fell asleep. Albus did his last minute packing, and then did the same. That night, he didn't have any nightmares.

The next morning was a big commotion. Everyone was saying their last minute goodbyes before hurrying onto the Hogwarts Express. Breakfast was served beforehand, and everyone rushed their food so they wouldn't miss the train.

Quite a few people weren't leaving, however, and among those people was Johnny.

"I wanted to give you guys your presents now, since I won't be on the train," he said as he handed each of them a bag of candy.

"Yay! Snacks for the train ride! You're the best!" exclaimed Ronnie.

Albus and Alex thanked him wholeheartedly before pocketing the sacks. Albus had his drawings in his bag, ready to show everyone.

Jake Webster walked by and made fun of the three Gryffindors for hanging with a Hufflepuff. Ronnie's quick retort had his scurrying off while Alex started handing out the remainder of his gifts. He gave Albus and Johnny boxes. Johnny opened his first, and inside it was a golden bracelet.

"Wow! This is brilliant! Thank you!" said Johnny with a smile.

"You're welcome," replied Alex. "I'm glad you like it. Albus open yours now."

Albus opened his box anxiously. Inside, he found a golden model of an owl that was about six inches tall.

"I know you don't have a pet, and you're always sending letters so I thought an owl would suit you. If you had one, it sure would be helpful, too," said Alex eagerly.

"Yup. My owl, Apollo, sure is," added Johnny.

"Thank you so much! I love it!" said Albus admirably as he looked as his present.

"Okay, my turn!" exclaimed Ronnie. "Here, I wrote you guys some letters."

Albus grabbed his letter and read it to himself as his two friends did theirs. Ronnie waited with an eager face for their feedback.

"Dear Albus,

I haven't known you for that long, but we've already gone through so much together! At the end of the day, through all the arguing and teasing, I really do care about you. You and Alex are the first real friends I've ever had. So I guess you are my best friends automatically, huh? Well I hope you have a very happy Christmas because you deserve it, and I can't wait for us to have more good times to come in the future.

Love always,

Ronnie"

"That was beautiful, Ronnie. Thank you," said Alex along while Johnny thanked her.

"Did you like it?" Ronnie asked Albus.

"Of course I liked it. It was great. Thank you," said Albus before moving on and pulled his drawings out from his bag.

"This one is the three of us, and this one is us at our favorite spot in the courtyard. I know it's not much-"

"It's amazing! Hey! I didn't know you could draw!" approved Ronnie, while munching on her gift from Johnny already.

"I didn't either," confessed Albus with a laugh.

After the four friends shared their gifts and had their laughs, they parted ways. Johnny went back to where Albus assumed was the Hufflepuff common room. The trio got their luggage and followed the rest of the students leaving the castle. After leaving castle grounds and finally reaching the train station, everyone was eager to hop aboard and greet their families after months of separation.

Albus no longer had all three of his drawings, but rather just one. Ronnie kept one, and Johnny kept the other. Alex offered for them both to take it. The one that Albus still had was of course the one of his family. He was nervous to see them again after so long and after the discovery of his father's legacy. Nonetheless, he missed them terribly.

The trio got a compartment to themselves. Albus kept admiring his gift from Alex. A golden owl. Maybe now he would ask his parents to get him an owl. Secretly, he now hoped they got him one for Christmas even though he never asked for one or even mentioned wanting a pet.

"I'm really glad you guys enjoyed your gifts," said Alex gleefully. "I really enjoyed what you guys made for me."

"No problem," said Ronnie while still eating her candy.

"I'm so excited to come back home to my parents and Peeky!" exclaimed Alex.

"I wish I had a pet! I don't know what I'd get though. I don't want something typical or normal," said Ronnie.

"No surprise coming from a girl who isn't normal," spat Bella as she passed their compartment. Patricia and Isabella both started laughing immediately.

"Wow! You really don't want to start with me, Lestrange!" yelled Ronnie. "You think you're so amazing. I always fail to understand why!"

Alex sat there nervously, looking like he was at a loss for words. Albus stood up instead.

"Bella, will you just stop?" he said flatly. It took a lot out of him to go up against Bella, but Ronnie was one of his best friends and a lot more important.

"So Potter finally had something to say, I see," snapped Bella. "Something other than obsessing over me." Patricia and Isabella started laughing uncontrollably.

_It's not even that funny_, Albus thought.

"At least I have a family to go to!" argued Ronnie. "Your evil mother is dead!"

"What- What are you talking about?!" yelled Bella, taken aback. "You know nothing."

"We know about your mother, Bellatrix Lestrange. I see you've been named after her. I guess all evil people need to have the same disgusting name," retorted Ronnie.

"Haha, you certainly do know NOTHING," snapped Bella. "Bellatrix Lestrange is my grandmother. Although I do wish she was my real mother. I do have a family to go home to, just not my pathetic real one."

Bella slammed their compartment door as she and her friends left. Ronnie was so heated; she even dropped some of her candy.

"Here, let me help you pick it up," offered Alex.

"Thanks," said Ronnie, and then she looked at Albus. "And thank you, too, for sticking up for me."

"What are best friends for?" replied Albus with a smirk.

Ronnie definitely had a soft side, even though it wasn't always shown. Since she got into another argument with Bella, they had new information. She was related to the notorious Bellatrix Lestrange, just not as closely as they'd thought.

What she said, though, "_I do have a family to go to, just not my pathetic real one_" had Albus thinking. What did she mean? Since there was no way he could figure it out, the rest of the train ride home consisted of telling each other about their home lives.

Alex recounted about how he lived in a manor and didn't want to show off and that was the reason he never told them. He shared stories about all the fights he'd get into with Gabriel, and about Rafael, his two brothers. He also told them about how he doesn't see his dad as much because of his job, but he did have a close relationship with his mum.

Ronnie told her friends about how she lived in a suburb with her parents. She told them about how surprised her parents were to find out she was a witch. They quickly accepted her, though, because it wasn't the only thing out of the ordinary about her. She then complained about being an only child and how she desperately wanted a pet.

Lastly, Albus reminisced about his big family and discussed their jobs. His friends seemed interested to hear about Harry. Alex must have told Ronnie about his legacy, but Albus couldn't go into that since he himself didn't know much about it. Every time James was mentioned, Ronnie gave a disgusted look which made everyone laugh.

Even though the train ride started with an argument with Bella, it was all smooth sailing from then on.

When the train stopped, the trio gave their last goodbyes and hugs. Alex got off the train first and ran over to his family. His mum had long dirty blonde hair that was tied up. She was wearing a purple dress and a black jacket. His dad had short black hair, tan skin, and a beard. He was dressed in fancy clothing as well. Along with them was his brother Gabriel who had spiked up black hair, and was dressed in red. In a stroller was his baby brother Rafael.

Alex waved goodbye and his family did the same at Albus and Ronnie. They then walked away into a black car. Ronnie and Albus were still looking for their parents.

Albus looked around until he heard James yelling for him. He evidently found them first. They were with Rose and her family. This reminded Albus of when they first departed to Hogwarts back in September.

"Would you like to meet them?" he asked.

"Sure!" answered Ronnie.

They walked up to his family and he was greeted with big hugs. It was nice to know he was missed. Albus then introduced them to Ronnie, and they seemed to like her, even though James just looked annoyed the entire time.

"Sorry, but I have to keep looking for my parents, so I hope you talk to you guys soon! Have a nice vacation, Albus!" exclaimed Ronnie as she ran off to look for her parents.

"I'm glad you made such good friends, dear," said mum.

"Yeah. Me, too," replied Albus.

The reuniting with his family seemed to be a lot less uncomfortable than he anticipated. His dad even had his arm wrapped around him as they walked off to their car.

Even though it wasn't awkward, Albus couldn't help but feel nervous. He dreaded the conversation that was eventually going to come.

When they finally made it to their car, leaning at the side was someone he hadn't seen in years. Just like he last remembered her, she had long flowing blonde hair with a pale complexion. Fresh in her naturalist exploring gear, she had a stare that seemed unfocused.

"Hello, Albus. You seem a bit disoriented," bluntly said Luna. "Are you nervous about something? I suspect you've found Nargles?"


	12. Fantastic Beasts & Where Luna Found Them

The gracefully aging Luna Scamander stood there waiting for Albus to reply. She never failed to blankly stare and smile, which made him feel even more uncomfortable. Years have passed since their last encounter, so Albus was feeling a little awkward.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's really nice to see you, Luna," said Albus, as he politely hugged her. Rose and James then did the same.

"How are you guys enjoying your first year at Hogwarts?" asked Luna, while getting into the car. It had an undetectable extension charm, so the rest of the family was able to come in. Ron took the drivers' seat.

"I've already been at Hogwarts. This is my second year," gloated James. "Albus, however, has been having quite a first year."

"Yeah," replied Albus.

"But my second year is pretty interesting as well, finding out my father has been lying to me my whole life and all," said James.

Mum quickly gave James a cold look while dad just looked down at his lap and said nothing.

All Albus wanted to do was avoid getting into this conversation. Albus happened to be at a window seat, so he gazed at the sky. It was very cloudy and dull. Christmas was approaching and it still hasn't snowed.

Everyone in the car was silent after this, and the ride was very intense. Albus didn't want to show anger towards his parents, but he should have guessed that James would. He knew that this Christmas was sure to be an interesting one.

The car pulled into a trail, which lead to the Potter's home. Their home was surrounded with trees, and there were no houses anywhere nearby. The closest home from here was the Burrow, which belonged to his grandparents.

When the car came into the driveway, Albus couldn't help but smile ecstatically. It was a two story, cream colored home, with a brown thatched roof. Albus' room had a window which was located in the front second floor of the home.

"Welcome home, guys," giggled Lily. She was nothing but smiles since seeing her two brothers.

Albus immediately ran to the house along the path to the front door which had little bushes on both sides. Right before he made it to the door, the door opened and Grandma Molly was ready to express her love for her grandchildren.

"Oh, Albus! My dear!" she greeted, embracing him tightly. She then proceeded to do the same to everyone else. She even gave Lily a hug like she hadn't seen her in years.

"It's so nice to see you again!" said James. He and Grandma had an especially close relationship.

"Now Ginny, I was free, so I made lunch for everyone. Are you hungry, dears?" asked Grandma as the family shuffled into the living room.

The living room and the dining room were located right next to each other. In the living room, there was a black couch in front of a television and fireplace. You also couldn't miss seeing all the pictures that Mum had all over the living room of her three children. Also, because of the occasion, a beautiful Christmas tree was set up, and stockings were placed above the fireplace.

James ran over to the kitchen counter at the other end of the house. He enthusiastically yelled, "Yes! Grandmas cooking! Something to cheer me up." This only caused more sad looks from Mum and Dad.

"Now, don't be tense, dear. Come. I made you some cookies," rejoiced Grandma. "Come, children, have some cookies!"

Lily and Hugo ran to the kitchen for the cookies as if their life depended on it. Rose went, too. However, Albus didn't want to eat, or at least not yet. He needed to see his room to feel at home. He ran to the stairs, which were located near the entrance, past the guest room. He went upstairs and his room was through the door on the left.

He opened the door slowly, building up the anticipation for himself. When he went inside, it was just as he left it a few months ago. The walls were painted red, showing his admiration to be in Gryffindor which he now was. His bed was on the right side, right next to his closet. Immediately next to his door was his wooden wardrobe. He opened it and changed so he wouldn't have to be in his uniform. He had a small desk parallel to his bed next to his window.

He placed his bag there, and then remembered he needed to show his parents his drawing. He decided to wait until later when they were alone.

He heard knocking on his door, and it was Rose telling him they were waiting for him.

"I'll be right down," he replied.

"Victoire missed the Hogwarts Express. Bill and Fleur had to go pick her up at Hogwarts so they won't be here tonight," informed Rose. "And Teddy went with them to get her so he won't be here either."

"I hardly see her that I didn't even notice," he confessed.

"Oh, I see her a lot, but I didn't notice her absence either. Looks like the first family dinner won't be complete," she groaned.

Albus opened the door and the two of them went downstairs to have lunch with the rest of the kids. Hugo and Lily exchanged stories of what happened with them the past few months, while Albus, James, and Rose told their Hogwarts stories. They also heard stories from Grandpa Arthur about muggle artifacts such as "the internet machine".

Out from the guest room came out Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, Luna's twins. They must have been sleeping seeing as they were in pajamas. However, they didn't look tired at all. They ran over to the kids and gave everyone big hugs. The last time Albus had seen them, they were five years old. Now they were seven.

Rolf Scamander came out just after his children, except he actually looked tired. Luna went over and clung onto him.

A few hours went by and everything seemed normal. Albus wondered when his parents were going to talk to him and James about the legacy. Albus still hardly had a clue what exactly his father did, and why his father hid it from him all these years.

Then again, there was a lot of family around and a serious family discussion wasn't going to happen while they were still here. It made Albus wonder if they were even going to discuss it during this Christmas break. But they had to.

James was ignoring their parents the whole time, and Albus ignored them too. Not to be rude, or show anger, but because he just didn't know what to say. He felt awkward the whole time, so he stayed in his room with Rose until dinner.

"You're so lucky you got into Gryffindor," said Rose. "You seem really happy there."

"Yeah, but aren't you happy to be in Ravenclaw?" inquired Albus.

"Well, yeah. Of course I am. But for as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be in Gryffindor. I'm not exactly upset. It's just something that disappoints me every now and then. Am I not brave enough?"

"I doubt it's that. We all have traits from every Hogwart's house. I think the Sorting hat just picks the strongest one we have or something. You're really smart, Rose! You should be proud!"

"I wonder where our siblings are going to be sorted," she thought out loud. "It's pretty nerve wrecking. I have no idea where Hugo would fit into."

"Well James and I are both in Gryffindor, so I hope Lily is too. But you never know with these things."

"It's weird. It's our first year at Hogwart's and I'm already thinking about years ahead, when all of us cousins will be in Hogwart's."

"Well, Lucy graduated already, and Victoire is graduating this year. Molly is only three so we won't be there by the time she starts her first year. But next year, we will have Dominique and Fred. Then it will be Lily, Hugo, and Louis. In our fifth year, we will be seeing Roxanne," counted Albus.

"Also, in our fifth year, Lorcan and Lysander, if Luna decides to put them in Hogwarts. They aren't family but they are as good as," Rose added.

"I'm sure she will put them in Hogwarts. How old is Neville's daughter? One or two years younger than Lily and Hugo?"

"I'm not sure, but I guess we will be seeing her too!"

It was as though the two were planning out the next years of their lives, and who will be included. They would be seeing a great deal more people that they know in the years to come. Albus and Rose were both too shy to get to know that many strangers at Hogwarts. It's a miracle they even made friends at all.

While talking to Rose, Albus took his bag and got the golden owl model that Alex gave him. He knew exactly where to put it, on his desk, next to his lamp. It only made Albus wonder if someday he would have a real owl sitting on his desk.

"Albus, Rose," said Mum from the doorframe. "It's time for dinner, sweetie."

"Okay," replied Albus. This was all he's said to her since he got here.

When Albus and Rose got downstairs, all of the Weasley family arrived except for Bill and Fleur's part of it. Dinner was held in the Potter's backyard because it was so big and they had a very long dining table set up. It normally fits about 10 people, but Hermione knows a spell that extends it so it can fit as many as they want. Today, it was necessary for the table to fit at least twenty five.

Albus quickly greeted his cousins before sitting down, and then Grandma brought out all the food along with Angelina and Audrey. Hermione and Mum just finished setting up the table, and dinner was ready to start. The Potter-Weasley family always sat the same way every dinner.

Harry's family would sit at the head of the table, followed by Ron's family, then George's family, then Bill's family whom uncle Charlie sits with, lastly, Percy's family with Grandma and Grandpa. This time however, Luna's family sat between Harry's and Ron's.

With so many people at the same dining table you would expect total chaos, but this whole family was definitely in sync with each other.

The main topic at this dinner was Luna and her family. They had been gone for two years, travelling the world and discovering creatures. Luna's husband is the son of the author of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them"

"The most interesting discovery so far would definitely have to be the Blibbering Humdinger," recounted Luna. "But I'm still more excited to find the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

Ron rolled his eyes and Hermione nudged him. Before Luna actually went to discover these creatures, no one believed that they existed. Now, she was becoming famous for her discoveries and was writing an updated version of "Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them" along with her husband.

"But still, the biggest discovery this year would have to be Albus' and James' right?" inquired Luna. This question made everyone at the table literally stop eating and stare around awkwardly.

"Luna, I don't think now is the time," insisted Hermione.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong? I was merely just wondering," said Luna. "It must be awful to find out you were being lied to your whole life. I can only imagine how these two feel."

Grandma sounded like she nearly choked, and Mum grabbed Luna harshly and brought her inside. Albus sat there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say. James stormed inside slamming the door along the way.

"Nothing like getting together before Christmas, aye?" joked George. This relieved the tension just a bit.

"Albus, Lily, come inside with me please," whispered Dad.

They went inside and found Mum arguing with Luna. Luna apologized to both of Albus' parents and then went outside. Dad then called James downstairs and the family all sat in the living room.

Dad lit the fireplace which added a serene atmosphere to the room. He turned to his kids, and looked speechless.

"I just want you kids to know that I love you, more than anything. Your mother and I have done all we can to make sure we can keep you safe," he started.

"Keep us safe? By lying?!" yelled James.

"James, listen to your father!" yelled Mum. Now it just felt like everyone was arguing, just what Albus feared this whole time. The fireplace was exactly the opposite of the mood, slowly flowing, while the family was getting into arguments.

James was about to talk back, looking irritated, and Lily hid herself behind the couch. Albus looked down at his hands, clenched his fists and yelled, "STOP!"

Mum and Dad gave Albus surprised looks. He was the never the kind of person to do something like this, always so shy, always so quiet. The silence lasted long enough for dad to get to what he was meaning to say.

"When I was younger, from the first year that I went to Hogwarts, trouble started. I hardly knew anything about myself, or my family, and I learned along the way. I would have never wanted that for my children. But it's what I had to do. I defeated the darkest wizard of all time, Voldemort, and my life has been in constant danger, which means so are yours," continued dad. "Our house is surrounded by trees and far away so we are hidden. I had no idea what remaining dark wizards would want to do to us. I didn't really want to find out."

"I just don't understand," replied James.

"Please, I want you too. Ask me any questions," consoled Dad. "Any question at all."

"When did you defeat this dark wizard? Was I born yet?" asked James.

"Nope. It was about 6 years before you were born," answered Dad. "There hasn't been any sign of any dangerous dark wizards since then. But I couldn't help but feel paranoid. I guess that's what happens when only bad things happen to you all your life."

At this point Albus could only feel sorry for his Dad, the life that he lived. It was clear to him that he only did what he did out of love, for his safety, and for the family's safety.

"So is he the one who killed Grandma Lily and Grandpa James?" asked Albus.

"Yes, he killed my parents," he lamented.

"But why couldn't you just tell us? We could have been protected even if we knew," remarked James.

"I know that lying for all these years was wrong. I can only beg for your forgiveness now. I love you kids so much, please," begged dad.

By that point, everyone was in tears. Even James, stubborn and all, started crying and hugged dad. Albus and Lily did the same.

"I forgive you Dad," replied Albus. "I understand and I love you."

"Me too, and I'm sorry for how I've been acting," said James. "I just didn't know how to act. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, James," answered Dad as he ruffled James' hair.

"You were always a hero to me anyways, so this doesn't really make a difference," giggled Lily. Dad then spun her around in the air as she laughed out loud. The family was okay again.

"Hey, you know I helped him along the way of saving the world. I'm a hero too," joked Mum.

Right then, Ron came in and looked nervous. "You okay, mate?" he asked dad.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm great actually, now that my kids are happy again."

They all went outside to continue their dinner. Luna apologized again and again, and Mum insisted it was okay.

Albus now felt content with everything. The main problem had been his family. Now, with everything resolved and no more awkward situations, he could truly enjoy his Christmas break. He had thought about these days constantly for the past few months and, now, he was just so happy he could be with his family again.

Everything was fine until Bill flew into the backyard on a broom yelling for Dad and Ron's help.

There was a monster at Hogwarts.


	13. Happy Christmas

Panic burst throughout the entire family in just a matter of seconds. What was a calm dinner a few minutes ago became chaos. Almost immediately, all of the little children hid under the table. It extremely annoyed Albus, since the monster was at Hogwarts, and not at his house, but then again they were just children.

Grandma and mum began to magically clean up dinner and levitate all the plates back inside. Hermione put the backyard back to how it previously was while Bill told them more about what was going on.

"I went to see why Victoire missed the train, and they had no idea! They couldn't find her, so Fleur and I went to look for her ourselves," recounted Bill. "When we found her, she was fighting a beast in a dark corridor. Once we got there, it ran away. We were so worried about Victoire that we didn't chase it down. We had to come to aid our daughter!"

"I understand," sympathized dad. "Did you inform McGonagall about this?"

"Of course I did. She said she would take care of it, but I'm pretty sure she'll need some help," confessed Bill.

"Just like old times, eh?" said Ron, smirking at dad and Hermione.

"Ron! We can't just drop everything and go back to Hogwarts!" spat Hermione.

"Blimey, Hermione! Am I an auror or not?!" yelled Ron.

"Auror or not, we have to protect our children. We have no idea what that beast is, or if there are more for that matter!" explained Hermione. "For all we know, a whole bunch of creatures could be invading the country! Do you want your children to be here, unprotected and vulnerable, while we are at Hogwarts searching for one? Who knows if it even stayed there?"

"There is no way for that beast to leave Hogwarts without anyone noticing," argued dad.

"There wasn't supposed to be a way for it to enter Hogwarts either," corrected Hermione.

Albus had never seen such a discussion go on between his Dad, Ron, and Hermione. They always seemed the most mature, especially when in front of their children. They never even spoke much about work, and now they were discussing their strategies as if they were the only people in the room.

"Wow. So when they said they'd go back to old times, they weren't kidding," joked George.

"This sure does bring back memories," reminicsed mum.

Albus thought about how so much was hidden from him, and now Dad, Ron, and Hermione were all about to go back to "old times". That had to mean old times at Hogwarts when dad said he had to defeat Voldemort. Ron and Hermione, being his best friends, must have been the ones who helped him.

"Right. So Bill, Ron and I are going to go to Hogwarts tonight. We will hopefully be back by tomorrow morning. I'll send an owl if anything changes," clarified dad to which mum nodded.

"Be careful!" begged mum giving dad a kiss.

"But Daddy, tomorrow is Christmas. You have to be here!" protested Lily.

"I'll be back. Don't worry, pumpkin," he reassured.

"Rose, Hugo, take care of your mother," instructed Ron.

"Oh, right, because I'm the one who needs to be taken care of. You're the one they should be worrying about!" exclaimed Hermione. She then kissed him. "Don't do anything stupid, and don't take too long!"

"I won't," reassured Ron.

"Bill, where is Victoire?" asked grandma.

"She is with Fleur and the rest of the family at our place. She needed rest," answered Bill.

Dad, Ron and Bill all made their way to Hogwarts. Albus hugged his dad tightly before he left. He felt terrible. All this time, he knew about the monster. He just didn't believe it was real. He could have said something, yet he didn't. He could have prevented this.

Everyone else went back to their homes, and the Potter family and the Scamander's all went to bed in Albus' home.

Albus went up to his room, which now seemed a lot lonelier than it did before. This would be the first night he slept in a room alone. He was already so used to sleeping with Alex and Webster as his roommates. Especially with all the talk of monsters, it was scarier than before.

Albus couldn't sleep. He spent half of the night staying up thinking about the monster, and the other half dreaming about it. This dream consisted of a lot of singing which contradicted the monsters' shrieks.

The next morning, Albus was woken up by his dad. He opened up the curtains, which didn't let in that much sunlight. Albus realized why, because it was finally snowing.

"Happy Christmas, Albus!" said dad. He picked Albus up and gave him a big hug.

"Happy Christmas, Dad! What happened at Hogwarts?" asked Albus.

"Never mind that now. I told you I'd be back by morning. Come downstairs to see your presents!" said dad.

Albus ran downstairs in joy because his father was there for Christmas. When he got downstairs, he saw that everyone was already awake. It seemed that his dreams made him oversleep instead of waking him up.

Lily was riding around the living room in a new hot pink bike. Only because it was Christmas would mum ever let her do such an act.

James had just finished opening his new broom, the Lightyear 6000.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you!" cheered James while nearly jumping on their parents.

"You're welcome, son!" replied mum. She then noticed Albus. "Oh, happy Christmas, my angel! Come open your present!"

"Happy Christmas, Mum," answered Albus enthusiastically.

He had no idea what his present would be. Mum went and picked out a red and gold box from under the Christmas tree.

Albus took hold of the box and carefully opened it. Not knowing what to expect, he preparing a reaction just in case he didn't like it.

He opened the box and inside was two new outfits, and a big blank piece of parchment, which had a note that said "Keep away from James".

"We didn't know what you wanted, so I hope you like it," said dad. He then whispered. "I'll explain the parchment later."

"Okay," replied Albus. The parchment reminded him of his gift. "Wait here. I'll be right back!"

Albus ran up to his room and looked for his bag. Right on his desk where he left it, he found his drawing of his family. Then dad walked into his room.

"Are you okay, Albus?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I came to get this," he answered as he showed him the drawing.

"Wow! I didn't know you could draw. Son, this is amazing," said dad.

"Thanks dad!" said Albus. "I can't wait to show mum!"

"You know, for a moment I thought you were mad and didn't want to be near us," confessed dad. "I had to come check on you."

"No, I love the gifts," lied Albus. "I couldn't have asked for anything better!"

"Well let me explain to you this," said dad as he brought out the parchment that was in Albus' box a few minutes ago. "It isn't just a piece of parchment, it's a map."

"A map? But it's blank."

"It's called The Marauders Map. Here, to open it you have to say 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good,'" demonstrated dad. Then the parchment magically unfolded into a map, and Albus could see all of Hogwarts as well as footprints labelled with names.

"So I can see where everyone is?" he asked. "That's a bit creepy."

"Well, it was bloody helpful for me," explained dad. "Maybe it will be for you, too. Just don't let James know I gave this to you. Who knows what he'll use it for."

"But where did you get this?"

"It belonged to my father, and now I'm passing it down to you," he answered. "And when you're done just tap it and say 'Mischief managed.'"

"Wow, this is great. I love it!" said Albus. "But dad, what happened at Hogwarts?"

"We looked for a creature, but couldn't find one. McGonagall had a continued search going on and we've contacted the auror offices. That's all we can really do for now. But enough about that! Let's go downstairs and enjoy our Christmas, shall we?"

"Yeah, just give me a second," said Albus. He then signed the picture with his signature 'A' at the bottom. It was now truly complete.

When Albus got downstairs, Luna brought out exotic presents for him and his siblings. Each of them got a necklace that was supposedly a charm to keep away nargles.

"Uh, thanks Luna," muttered Albus.

"Anything for my god children," responded Luna. She then continued softly. "Well, technically only Lily is my god daughter but in my heart you guys are all my god children."

Albus took his drawing over to his mum, James and Lily. They all appreciated it just as his father did, and mum brought out a picture frame for it. It was placed right next to the Christmas tree where all the colorful lights could reflect off of it.

"I'm so happy to have you all here. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family," she smiled.

The rest of Christmas consisted of getting ready. The annual Christmas dinner was always held at the Burrow.

In his room, Albus put on one of the new outfits his parents got him. At least they were convenient. It was a red sweater with black pants. Albus activated the Marauders Map several times while getting ready for the fun of it. He couldn't wait to show Ronnie and Alex when he got back to Hogwarts.

Then it occurred to him that Johnny was still at Hogwarts during the holidays. Unsafe.

All Albus could do now was send him an owl. He would have to wait until he got to the Burrow and use one of their owls since mum and dad used their patronuses to send messages to people.

He quickly wrote a letter stating that a monster was definitely found and asking him to be safe, preferably staying in the Hufflepuff common room.

"Albus, it's time to go to grandma and grandpa's. Are you ready?" shouted Mum as she knocked on his door.

"Yes, I'm coming!" replied Albus. He folded the letter and put it safely in his pocket.

Downstairs, Luna and her family were all dressed with reindeer antlers on their heads.

"I think it really adds to the Christmas spirit, don't you think?" Luna shared. "They are surprisingly comfortable."

The car ride to the Burrow only took a couple of minutes, but it was long enough for Luna to go on about how she wanted pudding.

When they got there, the place was beautifully decorated to match the holiday spirit. There were decorative lights draped over the Burrow, as well as a huge snow covered Christmas tree in the back. Since it snowed, a tent was put up for them to celebrate the holiday in. It was a quarter as tall as the Burrow but twice as long.

Albus went inside the tent while mum went inside to the help finish cooking. Inside the tent was an extremely long table decorated in a white cover, with green and red plates and utensils, as well as plenty of flowers.

"Albus!" called Rose. She was wearing a red dress, with her hair untied. She must have worked hard to keep it tidy. She also had a ribbon in her hair and black shoes.

"Happy Christmas, Rose!"

"Happy Christmas to you, too! I guess we always seem to be the first at these family things."

"Yeah," giggled Albus. "Is everyone going to be here this time?"

"Yes, everyone is going to be here. Thankfully, my dad said he couldn't find any monster at Hogwarts so everyone's been worried."

"But let's just try to enjoy today," insisted Albus.

"Agreed!" said Rose.

Lily was holding a bunch of presents which she put under a Christmas tree at the end of the tent. There were a bunch of presents there already. Every year, everyone put their presents under the tree and exchanged them after dinner.

That's when Victoire entered with Dominique and Louis.

Victoire had long lush blonde hair. It was beautiful just like her mother's. She had blue eyes and great features.

Dominique had short red hair and freckles.

Louis had very near blonde hair and resembled his mother as well.

Along with Victoire, hand in hand, was Teddy Lupin. Today, he was sporting a turquoise shade of hair.

Usually the ones in the family to be late, this came as a surprise. Dominique put all their presents under the tree, and then ran off to be with Louis. Bill and Fleur came in shortly after, carrying cookies to hand out to the kids.

Albus went up to Victoire to ask her questions. He knew she'd be confused as to why he was but he didn't care anymore.

"Victoire, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking," answered Victoire. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"Do you remember what it looked like?" enquired Albus. "I think I saw it before too, just vaguely."

"You did? Well, I only remember it being extremely big! I tried to make out what it was, but I couldn't recognise it. It had the body of a bear, in a way, but also had a weird tail and wings."

"That's really weird," he commented.

"What did it look like to you?" she asked.

"Oh, I didn't really see it very well, only a shadow."

"Well, we've got to be careful when we go back!"

Meanwhile, Percy and Audrey came in with Lucy and Molly. Audrey and her daughter, Lucy, looked almost like twins, and they were both wearing purple dresses. Molly was ecstatic in her yellow polka dot dress and Percy was just wearing a black suit.

The family began to organize themselves around the table, while George and Angelina came in with Fred and Roxanne. George was wearing a goofy green suit, and his son Fred had one to match. Angelina and Roxanne were both wearing white. Charlie, who was staying with them on vacation, came with a red suit.

Hermione came in levitating a bunch of plates while holding Hugo's hand. Grandma and mum were doing the same and they set up the table.

Unlike yesterday, this family dinner went very smoothly. They tried to stay away from the topic of Hogwarts, but, here and there, Albus could hear dad and Ron whispering about it with Hermione.

At the end of the dinner, grandma made a toast about how glad she was to have her entire family with her on this cheerful day. It ended with everyone cheering, "Happy Christmas!"

Immediately, all the kids ran to the Christmas tree searching for presents that had their names on it. Albus found five presents for him, four of them being wrapped up galleons. Albus was officially at the age when his family would stop buying him toys and gave him money instead.

The fifth present, however, was from his grandparents. It was a knit sweater that grandma would make him every year.

"I hope you all like the sweaters I made you! It took me all year to make all of them," joked Grandma.

All the kids, including Albus, quickly embraced her all at the same time, or at least tried to. She was always showing care for her grandchildren.

Before leaving, Albus sent an owl to Johnny with his letter. He hoped it'd reach him before anything bad could happen to him.

After it was all over, they cleaned up the tent and everyone went home. During the car ride, it began to lightly snow again. Albus felt the happiest he had all year. He wouldn't worry about the problems he was sure to face when he got back to Hogwarts. For now, he just wanted to enjoy his holidays.


	14. Quidditch Try Outs

The rest of Albus' holiday vacation went smoothly. Frequent visits from his family, and seeing everyone enjoy their presents was a pleasure to him.

Fortunately, around New Years Albus recieved an owl from Johnny informing him that he was safe. He also mentioned that a group of ministry agents from the Department for Control of Magical Creatures were now regularly patrolling the school.

_Good, _Albus thought. _Now there won't be anymore attacks._

The car ride to Kings Cross wasn't a very pleasant one. Along with all the snow covering the roads, the gloomy sky, a particular little girl wasn't fond of her brothers leaving again.

"You guys can't go without me!Take me with you!" pleaded Lily, while tugging on James' shirt. Albus fortunately wasn't next to her.

"Lily, why do you want to leave me so fast?" asked Mum. "I'll be very sad when you're all at Hogwarts."

"Because I hardly get to do anything. All we do is stay home, I want to play with a bunch of kids at Hogwarts!" explained Lily.

_It's a school, not a playground._ Albus thought. _It isn't even safe. _

Albus was a bit upset to be leaving his family and having to go back to Hogwarts, but was glad he would be seeing all his friends again.

When they finally arrived to Kings Cross and reached the Hogwarts Express, Mum started checking that James and I had everything we needed.

"Do you have your bags, your books?" asked Mum. "Have you got any money incase you want something from the trolley?"

"Yes Mum," simultaneously chanted Albus and James. They hugged their family and made their way on board.

"Do you have your charms?" asked Luna right before Albus and James were about to board the train.

"No, I must have forgotten it at home," replied Albus.

"Same," said James.

"No worries I've brought some more for you and your friends," exclaimed Luna as she gave them both small bags full of the charm necklaces. "Keep an eye out for those nargles,"

James shoved the bag into his backpack to make sure no one saw it. Albus did the same, yet he was curious of what exactly these necklaces were.

Walking past the compartments he saw Rose and the Ravenclaws chatting animatedly. Albus greeted them but he was most anxious to find his two best friends.

"Albus!" yelled Ronnie and Alex, with their heads sticking out of a compartment. They hugged him and invited him to sit with them.

"How was your holiday break?" asked Alex.

"It was pretty good, how was yours?" answered Albus.

"Good as well, did a lot of studying with my mum."

"Why would you study?!" protested Ronnie. "All I did was eat and sleep."

"Because - oh you wouldn't understand," sighed Alex. "Anyways, I did find some information on the Healing Springs."

Before Alex could go on, the compartment door flew open and Scorpius Malfoy came in, and shut the door quickly.

"Oh not again," protested Albus.

"Well maybe Lestrange did something to him!" argued Ronnie. "Malfoy, are you okay?"

"Yes, I - I can't talk about it," replied Malfoy. "But can I please sit here?"

Ronnie nodded, and Malfoy sat opposite Albus.

"You look so beat up," sympathized Ronnie. "Are you sure there isn't something we can do? I'd love to give that Lestrange a good punch."

"She's very aggressive so I wouldn't try that," warned Malfoy. "I wish we weren't sorted into the same house."

"So why are you always around her?"

"As if I wanted to be," replied Malfoy. "Her dad is my grandmothers nephew. Bella ran away from home about five years ago and since then has been living with my grandparents."

The trio gave each other curious looks. All this information was coming from Malfoy, and he had no problem sharing it with them.

"Everything is even worse now," continued Malfoy. "Ever since she got this bloody cat."

"Cat?" asked Alex. "You don't like cats?"

"It's not that," replied Malfoy. "It's just that hers is a menace, just like her. She got one for Christmas."

"Now Scorpius, don't go fraternizing with the enemy," spat Bella from outside the compartment door. "Such a shame I thought you of all people would be a bit more trustworthy."

Bella looked at Hunt, and she opened the door. Then she looked at Knight, and she grabbed Malfoy by his collar. All while Bella simply pet her cat. As they dragged him away, Bella ordered Malfoy around. "Scorpius you need to feed Salena soon."

This encounter left the trio speechless. Even Ronnie seemed to be at a loss for words. Bella had her friends at her fingertips, and even Malfoy, although he didn't want to be.

_How can someone so beautiful treat people so badly_? thought Albus. _It can't be her fault._

"Something sure is wrong with that girl," criticized Ronnie.

"Exactly, and we need to help her!" pitched Albus.

"That's not what I meant. She needs to help herself by changing," said Ronnie. "Before I need to slap the evil out of her."

As much as Albus wanted to think otherwise, he knew Ronnie wasn't joking. Bella Lestrange was someone that Albus couldn't figure out. He spent the last couple of months just trying to get her to notice him, and now, everything feels different.

Albus then decided he needed to distance himself from her and think about it all. He so badly wanted to be with her, but right now it wasn't possible. Albus kept to himself for the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts, upset that the first girl he ever took interest in turns out to be someone he knows he has to stay away from.

For now, at least.

"So Alex, are you going to tell us what you found out about the Springs?" asked Ronnie.

"Oh, yes I almost forgot," replied Alex. "What I found is that the Springs are rumored to be found at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?! You don't think-"

"Yes, I do," confessed Alex. "I think we should find it."

"So you're telling me you're keen of sneaking around the school while a monster is on the loose?" argued Albus. "Because I sure am not."

"But if there's a chance that we can get water from the springs and cure Taylor Jones and the Blast-Ended Skrewt," stated Alex. "We can't pass that up, we need to try."

"Well I'm hoping that you have a map to the springs or something then," said Ronnie. "Because I have no idea where we would start."

"Ronnie, if there was a map -" started Alex.

"I have a map," said Albus.

His two friends looked at him curiously as he took out the Marauders Map. Albus tapped his wand and recited _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good._

"It's a map my dad gave me," explained Albus. "It's not to the Healing Springs, but it shows all of Hogwarts so maybe it's in here."

"Can I take a look?" asked Alex. Albus gave him the map and Alex quickly started looking through it. "Remarkable this is, we could find anything!"

"So maybe we'll find the Springs!" cheered Ronnie.

"We will have to take a closer look later. Here Albus," said Alex as he gave the map back. "At least we have something to start with."

"There's also something I didn't tell you guys," confessed Albus. "I keep having these weird dreams, about the monster, I don't know what they mean."

"What happens in them?" quired Ronnie.

"I don't exactly know. The dreams seem random, but they always include the three of us against it. One time it was just me running away from it by myself," recounted Albus.

"Well that will never happen," started Alex. "Because we'd never leave you by yourself."

"Whatever is going on," said Ronnie. "We're in this together."

Even though the situation was bad, Albus couldn't help but smile at his friends. All this time he was scared they'd think he was crazy, but now he realizes that they truly are a team.

The anticipation for the Quidditch tryouts was more than obvious all around the castle, but especially in the Gryffindor common room. The news about the monster didn't scare anyone, especially with all the ministry agents hanging around. Albus couldn't help but worry. The monster could easily attack the people from the ministry. No one knew what they were up against, which made it all the more worse.

Instead of guessing at what could be terrorizing the castle, everyone was predicting who would make the Quidditch team. Even Albus knew that James was definitely going to make the team again. Unfortunately, he didn't think Ronnie would.

Yes, Ronnie was a naturally skilled flier and all, but she never played Quidditch that much before. Having been born with muggle parents, she didn't even know of the sport. Lately she's been practicing at catching and throwing balls around, but that was no substitute for the actual roughness of the sport. Albus helped her practice with the balls because it had nothing to do with being in the air. Alex read up on strategies on how she could be a better player and just to inform her of the sport. "Quidditch Through The Ages" was all they were reading lately.

Quidditch Try-Outs were held the day after everyone returned from Christmas Break.

"You know, I actually think I could maybe have a chance," said Ronnie enthusiastically.

Albus wasn't so sure but he just simply replied "Yeah, I really hope you do," to her. She giggled and then playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"Johnny said that he wanted to come to the tryouts with us to support you," said Alex to Ronnie while walking to the Great Hall to get a quick snack before going off to the Quidditch pitch.

"Well then he needs to come meet us quick because I want to get there a little early to make a good impression!" said Ronnie enthusiastically.

Ronnies excitement made Albus feel even worse about the fact that he didn't think Ronnie would get in. Maybe if her and James didn't irritate eachother, he could have helped her. But that wasn't going to happen, and it was way too late regardless.

"Hey! Over here!" yelled Johnny from the Hufflepuff table. He was sitting with his friend, Pagan Cowell.

"How was your vacation here?" asked Albus as he and his friends approached the two.

"It was fine," said Johnny. "I wasn't alone, had Pagan here to keep me company."

Pagan Cowell giggled slightly to the comment. Albus had never talked to her much before, because whenever they meet up with Johnny, she is too shy to join in. She had medium height brunette hair tied into a braid.

"So Johnny, we need to get to the Quidditch pitch right now! I need to get there early!" exclaimed Ronnie as she tugged at his cloak.

"Pagan would you like to come?" asked Johnny.

"I think I rather stay here," she said. Her voice was soft and sounded nervous.

"Oh just come on!" protested Ronnie as she tugged at her cloak too.

Ronnie forced them all out of the Great Hall and began to run to the Quidditch pitch. Her company had to sprint in order to keep up with her.

Part of him really wanted Ronnie to make it solely because he knew it'd irritate his brother. Yes, Albus and James had become a little closer than before but it doesn't mean Albus still didn't like to see him annoyed. Especially if it's something like competition.

When they all finally reached the Quidditch pitch, Albus was the first to notice that it was early, but they weren't the first ones there. Already in the air, was James.

"What are you children doing here? This is Quidditch try-outs, not a day care," James joked around. He smiled at Albus, and went serious in the face when he looked at Ronnie.

"We're only a year younger than you, so don't get so confident. Plus, I'm here to try-out for the team," said Ronnie.

"Try-out for the team?! But you're a first year?!" yelled James laughing with Rick.

"It's not impossible! You'll see, then you won't be laughing so much!" spat Ronnie.

Madame Hooch came into the pitch and looked perplexed to see so many first years.

"Here to support your brother, Potter?" asked Madame Hooch.

"Not exactly," answered Albus. "Ronnie is going to try-out."

"Cambridge?" quired Madame Hooch. "But Miss Cambridge you're a first year."

"Just because I'm a first year doesn't mean I'm not good," protested Ronnie.

"I'm sorry but first years aren't allowed to try-out," informed Madame Hooch.

The frustration in Ronnie's face clearly showed. Albus, not being very informed of Quidditch, had no idea this was a school rule.

"But- that's not mentioned in 'Quidditch Through The Ages'" argued Alex.

"It's a school rule Mr. Greenfield," said Madame Hooch. "I'm really sorry Miss Cambridge but I don't know what to tell you."

"No! I am going to try-out. If James Potter could try-out last year why can't I," argued Ronnie.

"James Potter was just an exception-"

"Is it because I'm muggle born?" spat Ronnie.

"Now Miss Cambridge, this is not a prejudice matter,"

"Then let me try-out. If you could make exceptions before than make them again," argued Ronnie. "Better yet, forget the rule altogether."

Madame Hooch stood there with a hesitant face, clearly upset with Ronnie. "Fine" she said, before she went and got a school broom for Ronnie to use.

The determination Ronnie was showing really surprised Albus. He didn't think she was _this_ passionate about making the team. While Ronnie was flying around, Madame Hooch gave a subtle smile.

Although he had his doubts, Albus wanted Ronnie to show off and actually make the team. It would make people take not only the current first years seriously, but take her seriously.

"Maybe we should get a good seat and support her, it's all we can really do," suggested Alex. Johnny nods agreeing with him.

"Alright then. Let's go," said Albus as he started to go up to get a better view.

This was Albus' second time being on the benches in the Quidditch pitch. The first time being last year, during James' first game. Albus and his friends sat very high so they could see as much as possible. The pitch stretched a large amount, and the interior was decorated with huge banners representing the four Hogwarts houses. The day that was picked for these try-outs was perfect. The sky was clear and the snow around Hogwarts had already cleared up.

James flew over to where Albus was sitting. "I'll admit, she's a good flyer, but she won't make the team."

"Yeah, well we'll see" replied Albus.

_Maybe if she made the team_, Albus thought, _she'd make more friends and become popular. She would be happier_.

After about five minutes, Albus could easily see the floods of Gryffindors coming into the Quidditch pitch to try-out. The chances of Ronnie making the team kept getting slimmer and slimmer.

Albus was getting nervous, and he wasn't even the one trying out! He couldn't even imagine how Ronnie felt, until she flew by next to them.

"It's getting a little chilly, should of brought my jumper!" exclaimed Ronnie.

"Is that all you can think of? Aren't you nervous?" asked Albus, surprised of how calm she was.

"Why on earth would I be nervous? This is fun! I love flying and I'm confident that I'm good. If I don't make the team, there's always next year," said Ronnie. "I'm just glad I'm being allowed to try-out at all."

"That's a great way to look at it!" said Alex cheerfully.

"Yeah, I'm still mad that neither of you wanted to try-out with me though!" said Ronnie.

"But that's because none of us are as good as you," said Albus very sincerely. "Now get over there and show them what you've got! I believe in you"

"Thanks," said Ronnie very genuinely. She flew down and the try-outs were about to begin.

Penelope Toyle was gathering up all the Gryffindors ready to try-out, and a lot of them looked really confident, especially Ronnie.

"Now I want to make this very simple for you guys," announced Toyle. "I just need you to sign all your names here along with what year you're in, as well as the position you want, and then I'll begin to test you individually."

All the Gryffindors quickly did the task, and after a few minutes Toyle was ready to begin.

"Sarah Whitehall," called out Toyle. "Fly around the pitch as fast as you can, and then fly back. I'll throw you a Quaffle and let's see if you can catch it."

Sarah Whitehall was a good flier, but when it came to catching the Quaffle she completely missed.

"Okay, that'll be all, thank you," said Toyle. "Right, so next is Veronica Cambridge-"

"That's me!" exclaimed Ronnie.

"Wait - you're a first year! You can't try out to be the seeker!" blurted Toyle.

At those words, Madame Hooch ran over to Toyle, Albus couldn't hear what she was saying, but she must have convinced her to let Ronnie try out because she then ordered Ronnie what to do.

"Okay then, Cambridge," started Toyle. "Fly around the pitch, and I will release the snitch, let's see how fast you can find it."

"Okay!" cheered Ronnie.

Ronnie flew up in the air really quickly and made a good turn coming around back to the end where Toyle was. When Toyle released the snitch, Albus only saw it for about a second until he lost track of where it was. But fortunately, Ronnie seemed to have found it quickly. After about two minutes of watching Ronnie chase a golden glare, she finally caught it.

"I'm impressed," confessed Toyle. "I'll get back to you in a bit."

Toyle moved on to the other students trying out. Three other people tried out for the seeker, among them was James. He was the only one who was better than Ronnie.

"She's quite good, very energetic," said Cowell. "I hope she makes it."

"Yeah, me too," added Alex.

Albus regretted sitting up so high, because whenever Toyle wasn't loudly announcing something he had no idea what was going on. After a few minutes of what sounded like silence to Albus, Toyle began to announce the new installment to the try-outs.

"So I pretty much have picked out who I want for the team," began Toyle. "But I need Cambridge and Potter to try-out for seeker again."

"You can't be considering her instead of me?!" yelled James.

"I just need to be sure about my decisions," replied Toyle. "We have a big season coming up. I need the both of you to fly up, and I will release a snitch. Then let's see who can catch it first."

"You can't be serious -" started James.

"Fine! Let's do it then!" Ronnie interrupted. "Not afraid of a challenge are you?"

James' soared into the air giving Ronnie a smug look. Ronnie did the same, and the two levitated for a few seconds until Toyle finally released the snitch.

The first one to react was Ronnie, and she began to chase the snitch. James followed, and the two were flying really fast side to side.

"Go Ronnie!" cheered Alex and Johnny. Pagan sat quietly, but looked very anxious.

Albus couldn't believe what was happening. Ronnie was so close to making the team, but it'd mean James wouldn't. Even though Albus wanted James to be a bit annoyed, he knew that if he didn't make the team it'd destroy him.

Ronnie and James both dived to the ground and were flying barely five feet above the ground. Toyle and the rest of the Gryffindors had to run out of their way as the two approached. The snitch flew up, and James pulled up quickly and was right on it's tail. Ronnie tried to do the same but instead she and her broom flipped and she fell off of it.

"No! Ronnie!" yelled Alex.

"I hope she's okay," groaned Johnny.

James was then yelling "Victory" as he lowered himself with the snitch in hand. Unaware to what happened to Ronnie. Albus and his friends ran down the stairs and into the grass to come to Ronnie's aid.

"Oh my goodness! This is why I don't want first years trying out!" yelled Madame Hooch as she ran over to Ronnie. "Dear, are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

"No, I'm fine," sniveled Ronnie. "It just hurts a little but I'll be alright."

Ronnie got up and slowly limped over to her friends.

"Thanks for all the support guys," she said. "I'm sorry I couldn't make you proud."

"But you did make us proud," insisted Albus. "You were amazing, you know none of us could ever do what you did."

Ronnie smiled but then squealed at the pain in her leg.

"Come Ronnie, stop being so stubborn. Let's go to the hospital wing," said Alex as he wrapped her arm around him and he led her inside the castle with Johnny and Pagan.

Albus was following until he heard James call him. He jumped off his broom and ran over to Albus.

"What happened? Is she okay?" he asked in a fearful voice.

"I'm not sure, I hope so," answered Albus. "Congrats on making the team."

"Thanks, I just wish she didn't get hurt."

The Gryffindors congratulated James, but they weren't as cheerful as they would have been had the accident not occurred.

Albus then ran off to join his friends in the hospital wing, and try his best to comfort Ronnie.


	15. Lumos

Flowers were starting to bloom all around the castle. What was once a winter wonderland turned into a spring meadow, just as the new season arrived.

The three friends continued their research of the Healing Springs in the privacy of the Gryffindor common room. They set themselves at a desk that was meant for studying _actual_ school subjects. However, since it was hardly ever occupied, it became their ideal place to investigate.

It was a large square desk with a candle in the centre. At the moment, it was scattered with books, ripped pages, and the Marauders Map. Next to them was a portable chalk board which they faced away from the few Gryffindors in the common room. Everyone else was watching the Gryffindor team practice in the Quidditch pitch.

A few weeks had gone by since Ronnie's accident, but she wasn't quick to forget.

"I think he used a jinx on me," she claimed. "Are you sure you didn't see him do anything?"

"Ronnie, he beat you fair and square," insisted Alex. "Let's just focus on this for now."

"Well, with the first Quidditch game coming up, I'm a little disappointed, y'know?"

"It's okay. There's always next year," comforted Albus. "Just look at it as a whole year to practice."

"Very true," agreed Ronnie. "And a year for you guys to learn how to fly well, and try out with me!"

"Anyways," started Albus, desperately trying to change the subject. "There are so many different compartments in this map. The Healing Springs has to be here somewhere."

"Keep looking, I think I've found some more information," said Alex while he looked through a book _Occulta Mysteria_. This, among many, was from his home library.

"Alright, you do that while we check out this map," Ronnie said.

"Hey, look! There's the statue," stated Albus pointing at a room in the map.

"What statue?" asked Ronnie.

"Oh, right," said Albus, remembering that he never told Ronnie and Alex about the statue he found. "It's just a statue of a Phoenix I saw a while ago."

"Look! There's Lestrange and her pets," interrupted Ronnie, pointing at the Slytherin common room. "And I'm not just talking about that cat."

"I rather we not talk about Bella," muttered Albus. "Do you see any sources of water around here?"

"The lake," listed Ronnie. "All these bathrooms."

"The Healing Springs isn't going to be located in a bathroom," spat Alex from behind his book.

"Alright, alright," replied Ronnie. "Just a thought."

"Maybe we should go to McGonagall and tell her this could help," requested Albus.

"Oh yeah, and say bye to the map forever!" argued Ronnie. "She definitely wouldn't let you keep it."

"Of course! I knew it!" yelled Alex, causing the few Gryffindors to stare. He then continued with a whisper. "Look, here."

"_Among most undiscovered legends, the Healing Springs remains unknown to the magical community._" read Albus. "Okay, what's new?"

"Keep reading!" insisted Alex.

"_However, it is rumored that the Healing Springs was discovered by Aberforth Dumbledore back around 2000. Dumbledore denies any such discovery, but journalist Rita Skeeter insists that she has proof pertaining to these claims._" read Albus. "So someone did find it?"

"Supposedly that is," corrected Alex.

"Who is that guy anyways?" asked Ronnie. She then joked. "Maybe if we asked him he'd tell us. Albus is from a famous family. Maybe he'd want an autograph."

"Actually, I doubt he'd want an autograph. Aberforth Dumbledore would already know Albus' dad," informed Alex. "He fought during the Second Wizarding War. He's Albus Dumbledore's brother."

"The headmaster I'm named after," said Albus.

"Exactly," stated Alex. "Professor Longbottom told me that the legend was somehow connected to Albus Dumbledore."

"We know. We overheard you guys talking that day," Ronnie confessed with a giggle.

"Anyways," said Alex annoyed. "Ever since then, I had guessed it had to do with Aberforth. If this is all true then Aberforth should know where the Healing Springs are."

"But he's denied it. I don't think we should try to contact him," urged Albus.

"How would we anyways?" Ronnie added.

"I haven't figured it all out yet, but we are getting closer. You've got to admit. This is kind of fun, isn't it?" asked Alex enthusiastically.

"The next thing we need to do is find out more about Aberforth," said Ronnie. "You know, to find out if he hasn't passed away."

"He's very much alive, Ronnie," stated Alex. "My mother told me he works at the Hogs Head."

"I have no idea what that is, but sounds cool," said Ronnie.

"It's a a pub in Hogsmeade. It's not too far from here," explained Alex.

Albus wasn't sure about contacting Aberforth. He wouldn't want to reply to a bunch of kids about a legend he's already denied having connection to. _If only we could talk to whoever Rita Skeeter is_, he thought.

"Maybe Aberforth and Albus Dumbledore made the Healing Springs themselves," pitched Albus. "And now he's just keeping it hidden."

"But if The Springs were real, and Albus Dumbledore was able to use it," started Alex. "He wouldn't be dead."

"Unless he didn't want to live forever," pitched Albus.

The trio was hesitant as to what their next step was, but Albus felt like they were close to uncovering the mystery of the Healing Springs. However, that scared him. He honestly didn't think they'd get anywhere with the investigation, and, now that they had some clues, he really didn't know whether or not he wanted to go on.

There was no way he was going to tell his friends that, though. Alex and Ronnie seemed really enthusiastic with this mystery, and he wasn't totally against it either.

Once the rest of the Gryffindors came back into the common room with a ministry escort, Alex quickly started packing up his books while Albus and Ronnie cleaned up the rest.

"Done with practice?" asked Albus when James was coming over to him.

"Yep, I really think we're going to beat Ravenclaw in this first game," gloated James. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, just studying," lied Albus.

"Right. Well, have fun doing that," commented James. "Oh and don't forget that my game is in two days! Don't miss it!"

"Why would I?" questioned Albus.

Albus learned that with a Quidditch game approaching, everyone got very competitive in the houses. The Gryffindors have been hyping up for this match for the past week.

The next few days consisted of the same enthusiasm, that Albus wondered how they would act once they won. He was among those who believed this match would be a lucky one.

The breakfast in the Great Hall before the match was the most interesting that Albus had ever experienced at Hogwarts yet.

"Gryffindor! Gryffindor!" chanted the Gryffindor table.

"Ravenclaw! Ravenclaw" chanted the Ravenclaws.

The Hufflepuff and Slytherin tables were divided in chanting for one house or the other.

"Let's go, Gryffindors! Let's go!" screamed James at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to join him.

"Who are we? Ravenclaw! Who are we? Ravenclaw!" cheered the Ravenclaws in return.

Albus and Rose were trying to out-yell each other along with their all friends, except Alex, who looked annoyed and tried to continue his breakfast.

Albus was surprised that the professors simply laughed at the competitiveness. Professor McGonagall even joined in the cheering for Gryffindor.

Penelope Toyle stood up and led the Gryffindor team out of the Great Hall. The leader of the Ravenclaw team did the same. At once all of the students jumped out of their seats and followed to the Quidditch pitch.

"Let's wait for Johnny," requested Alex as he looked around.

"I can't see him anywhere with all these people in the way," spat Ronnie.

"Let's wait for it to clear out a bit," said Alex.

Even then, Albus couldn't see Johnny anywhere, and by the looks of it, neither could his friends.

"Do you think he already left?" asked Albus.

"Maybe," said Alex. "Well, let's get going then."

"We'll be late unless we take this shortcut I found on the map," said Ronnie. "I memorized it. It's this way."

Ronnie led her two friends to the alternative path then the usual route to the Quidditch pitch.

"The map said if we go this way," said Ronnie. "Wait, I didn't know it'd be this dark."

"Are you sure we should be here?" questioned Albus.

"I really don't think we should be," muttered Alex. "_Lumos." _Albus and Ronnie murmured the same spell and led on.

The corridor hardly lit up, but it was enough for the trio to continue along it.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just go back?" said Albus.

"Let's just run through here. We're going to miss the game!" said Ronnie.

They started to run through the darkness with only the illumination of their wands, but came to a halt when they saw a body lying on the ground face down. It was covered in a ripped cloak, and a few feet away was a collection of Gryffindor flags and red bullhorns.

"Oh my-" Alex yelled.

Ronnie gingerly walked towards the body, and hesitantly pulled the cloak off. Like Albus first feared, there was the dark haired Hufflepuff boy he warned about being careful a month back.

"Johnny!" shrieked Alex as he dropped to his knees to check if Johnny was breathing. "Albus! Go get Professor McGonagall! Hurry up!"

Albus ran away from the scene back the way he came. He made his way up to the Headmistress' office as fast as he could. The last thing he saw was Ronnie run another way while Alex attempted to levitate Johnny.

The corridors were nothing but a moving blur by how fast Albus was running towards McGonagall's office. Sweat was running down his forehead by the time he ran up the stairs to the third floor. When he got to the outside of McGonagall's office, he rummaged through his mind for the password.

"The Lost Diadem!" he yelled at the gargoyle.

The gargoyle twisted and turned until a full staircase appeared which Albus ran up. He burst through the doors and started yelling, "Professor McGonagall! Professor we need you!"

It took him a moment to notice McGonagall wasn't there and remember that she accompanied the rest of the school to the Quidditch match.

"Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall isn't present right now, my dear boy," said an unknown voice. "But if you wish, I can console you on any problem you have."

"Who's there?" said Albus

"Pardon me for not formally introducing myself. If you'd come by the Headmistress' desk, I'd be more than happy to do so."

Albus walked to McGonagall's desk and saw no one. No one.

But he saw two paintings, both the biggest in the entire room. One was of a man with a long gray beard with half-moon glasses hanging off his crooked nose. The second was a dark haired man with a smug expression.

"I am Albus Dumbledore," said Dumbledore. "And I expect you're Albus, Potter's son?"

"Obviously, he was here before," said the second painting. "I shall answer before you ask. I'm Severus Snape."

"Now Severus," started Dumbledore. "We were supposed to be _sleeping_, if you will."

"So you're the two headmasters I was named after," said Albus. "Albus Severus Potter."

"Yes," replied Dumbledore. "I was quite flattered that Harry named you after me, and even more ecstatic to hear that it was along with Severus."

"I am as well," added Snape. He then looked closely at Albus. "You have her eyes,"

"Who? I know I have my dad's eyes," said Albus.

"And he had your grandmothers eyes," said Snape calmly.

"Yeah - So aren't you guys supposed to be asleep?" asked Albus.

"We do most of the time, but Severus and I help McGonagall run the school," informed Dumbledore. "As I've had quite a bit of experience doing so myself."

"What did you need her for?" asked Snape.

"My friend, he's been attacked, by the monster!" yelled Albus. "I needed her-"

"She is in the Quidditch pitch right now," said Dumbledore. "I guess I shouldn't have advised her to take a great deal of ministry agents to the pit to be safe."

"Now my friend is going to start dying-" exasperated Albus. Then he thought this was the perfect chance to ask. "Dumbledore, I need to know where the Healing Springs are."

"The Healing Springs?" asked Dumbledore. "I didn't even know there was such a thing."

"But, didn't you make them? With your brother?"

"I haven't spoken to my brother since as long as I can remember," said Dumbledore. "I didn't make any Healing Springs, my boy."

"But, no, you can't be serious," muttered Albus. "So they don't exist?"

"I didn't say they didn't exist," corrected Dumbledore. "However, they were not of my own making."

"Such a thing isn't safe anyways," added Snape. "Any dark wizard would have eternal life with something like that."

"You're right Severus," said Dumbledore. "There is such thing as too much of a good thing. Healing is a prime example."

"I'm sorry, but I've got to go find Professor McGonagall," said Albus right before he sprinted out of the office.

After running past a few corridors, he ran into Ronnie. She as accompanied by a ministry agent.

"Albus! I had to go get McGonagall because we sent you to the wrong place," said Ronnie while trying to catch her breath. "We waited for you there thinking you'd come back quickly, but, when you took this long, I had to come looking for you. Come with me. We already took Johnny to the Hospital Wing. McGonagall is there."

The two friends made their way to the hospital wing accompanied by the agent. Albus had visited the hospital wing quite a few times already this year, and it was starting to feel like it was _his_ second home like it was his fathers.

"So you're sure you have no recollection of what happened?" McGonagall asked Johnny.

He was laying on a bed, with Alex sitting next to him in a chair. There was an empty chair where Ronnie must have been. Meanwhile, Madame Pomfrey was aiding all the scratches on his body.

"No," said Johnny weakly. "I was coming to the Great Hall a bit late because I was finishing up these flags I made for my friends, and then I felt something hit my head and that's when it all went black."

"Madame Pomfrey, I will need you to write to St. Mungos. We can't take any risks this time. This boy needs to be taken into intense care," ordered McGonagall. She then looked at Albus, Ronnie and Alex. "And what were you three doing when you came across this boy."

"We were going to the game after failing to find him, Professor," explained Alex.

"You children must be kept safe with the help of the Ministry," started McGonagall. "Hogwarts is no longer safe. Mr. Ward, please alert the rest of your squad to gather up all the children and send them to their common rooms. Have at least five agents in each common room and don't let anyone out."

"Professor, what can we do to help?" insisted Albus.

"I'm sorry, Potter, but there isn't anything you can do," answered McGonagall. "Just go with Mr. Ward, go to your common rooms and stay safe."

With no other option, Albus followed the ministry agent out of the hospital wing. Johnny looked extremely weak and terrified. Alex teared up, which only made Ronnie cry. Albus himself couldn't hold back the tears that he felt coming.

His friend was dying, and the Healing Springs didn't exist. Albus had no idea how he was going to break the news to his friends. Everything that they have been finding out, and searching for, had been lies.

It was the only chance they had at helping cure Taylor Jones, the Blast-Ended Skrewt, and now Johnny.


	16. Fireheart

"From this day forward, there will be no roaming the corridors unattended by an agent," announced Mr Ward, a big buff man, to the Gryffindor common room.

Everyone began to protest immediately, but, with the help of four more agents, they silenced the common room. James was among the loudest of all the brave Gryffindors who believed they didn't need the protection.

"Do you want to end up like the victims?!" yelled an agent with rough skin and no hair. "Not even knowing if they will survive the day?!"

"Well, maybe if you were actually any help we wouldn't be worrying about this!" argued James, and everyone began to protest again.

The ministry agents huddled up while everyone continued their protesting. Yet, Albus was still able to drown out all the noise and keep to his thoughts.

_If the Healing Springs don't exist, then what other hope do we have?_ he thought.

"Albus, let's go up to our dormitory," requested Alex. "Ronnie is going to hers. We can't stay here."

Albus nodded and the trio went up to their dorms. The last thing Albus heard before closing the door was Mr Ward using "Silencio" on the Gryffindors downstairs.

"What do we do?" urged Alex. "We have to look through your map and find the Healing Springs. It's now or never."

"Alex," started Albus. Alex was already going into Albus' trunk to retrieve the map. "Alex stop!"

"What? You're just going to let Johnny die because you're not that brave?!" argued Alex. "We have to do this for all those victims. If it makes you feel any better we can get McGonagall and just tell her!"

"No, we can't!" yelled Albus. "The Healing Springs don't exist! I talked to Albus Dumbledore's painting. Dumbledore didn't find nor create any springs."

"Frankly, I don't care what Dumbledore said," muttered Alex.

"What do you mean you don't care-"

"I don't know!" burst Alex. "I don't have a solution for this! I'm not as smart as you all may think. But you wouldn't understand. All I know is that we need to do something."

"Why would we need to do something?" argued Albus. "There are plenty of ministry agents working on this!"

"Because it's in your blood."

Albus stood there for a moment, and couldn't argue anymore. Alex was right. The adventure, the bravery, it was in his blood. However, Albus wasn't brave. Albus didn't want this adventure. He isn't Harry Potter. He's Albus Potter.

After a moment of silence, Alex threw the map on Albus' bed and sank into his own.

Their room was dark, Alex closed his bed curtains, and so Albus felt alone. Only lit by a few lamps, the darkness was penetrating the castle grounds.

He sat himself next to a window by his bed, and stared at the grounds. He wondered how Hagrid was doing, since he hasn't talked to him since their argument.

_He probably hates me,_ he thought. _Alex must too._

Albus looked at Alex's bed. He could see his silhouette through the bed curtains.

"Alex," he started.

Right then, the doors of his dormitory flew open and a ministry agent with gray hair and a moustache came in.

"I'm here to do a check-up," he announced as he held out a piece of parchment. "Greenfield?"

"I'm here, sir," mumbled Alex from his bed.

"Potter?" continued the man.

"Right here," said Albus.

"Alright then," checked off the man. "Webster?"

And there was silence, Albus couldn't believe he forgot the absence of Webster. Right after this attack, he disappeared. He was right; it was him.

"Where is Jake Webster?!" yelled the man.

"We don't know," answered Albus. "Haven't seen him at all today."

The man closed the door and started to yell something to his fellow agents. The discovery made Alex pull out the curtains from his four poster bed.

"So you were right," gasped Alex. "How could he have done this-"

"He made fun of Johnny before break. He showed that he didn't like him. I can't believe that he'd do this to him, though, to everyone," recounted Albus.

"We have to go tell McGonagall."

"Wait, maybe I can find him in the map!" exclaimed Albus. "Then, we'll tell the agents and they'll catch him!"

Albus jumped to his bed and Alex followed as he recited, "_I solemnly swear that I am up to no good._"

The Marauders Map magically appeared and Albus opened it quickly.

"Look for Webster," reminded Alex. "I can't wait to catch him. He'll pay."

Albus ignored his comments, however, as he was focused on the map. If he could find Webster and report it, there wouldn't be a need for Albus to do anything dangerous.

"Look. There's only one person in the common room. An agent," Alex pointed out. "The rest must be looking for Webster."

"As are we," reminded Albus. "Do you see anything – wait. What's that?"

Albus pointed at a dot near the statue of Fawkes that he saw months prior to this. "Horace Slughorn and Jake Webster," he read.

"Is that Professor-" Alex started and then the dots disappeared. "Where did it go?!"

"Where did _they _go?" questioned Albus.

"We've got to go there," started Alex. "Hurry. We've got to follow them!"

"Alex, are you sure we should?" asked Albus. "The agent won't let us go."

"We'll see," said Alex as he grabbed his green messenger bag and filled it with some test tubes, a book, his scarf, and his wand. "Hurry. We've got to go get Ronnie!"

"Alright," Albus agreed as he grabbed the Marauders Map and his wand.

The two opened the door of their dormitory slowly and heard loud snores. Evidently, the agent they trusted to monitor the common room was asleep.

"Let's go," whispered Alex. They tiptoed down the stairs, and Alex approached the stairs to the girls' dormitory. He set one foot on the stairs and it turned into a slide, almost making him slip.

"Boys aren't allowed." Alex whispered as he pulled out the book from his bag and levitated it towards the door with the incantation. "Wingardium Leviosa_._"

He levitated the book to the top of the stairs and bumped it into the door three times. The door flew open and Ronnie came out looking ecstatic, wand in hand, ready to go.

Ronnie slid down the slide, and hopped up to the boys. "I thought you were never going to come!" she exclaimed.

"Quiet," alerted Albus. He pointed at the agent. "He's asleep."

"Sorry," whispered Ronnie. "Okay. You got the map?"

"Yep," answered Alex.

"Wait. Did you two plan this out?" asked Albus.

"Not entirely," whispered Alex. "But for the most part, yes."

"Come on. Let's go before this guy wakes up," urged Ronnie.

The three friends were right across the man. He was across the common room on a red chair facing them with his head up in the air and arms flung out.

The fireplace was calm and there was total silence other than the snores escaping the man.

"He's not asleep," said Alex. "Not genuinely at least. Look, I've seen this before. He's under a sleeping charm. He won't wake up for a few hours, which is why he stayed asleep even through Ronnie's yells."

"Who could have done that to him?" asked Albus.

"Who knows? But to make sure," started Alex as he approached the man.

"Wait! What if you wake him?" warned Albus.

"We run," giggled Ronnie.

Alex was snapping in the man's face when Ronnie and Albus grabbed him by both arms and pulled him away.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Ronnie.

They crawled out through the portrait hole and ignored the calls of the fat lady as they ran to another corridor.

"How do we get to the statue? Check your map." said Alex.

"What statue? I thought we were going to the Healing Springs," enquired Ronnie.

"Professor Slughorn and Jake Webster were on the map near this statue and then disappeared. We have to go there," answered Alex.

"Look, James is in McGonagall's office," stated Albus. "Guess we know who jinxed the agent."

"Keep an eye on the map. We don't want to run into anyone," ordered Alex.

The trio ran from corridor to corridor, dodging ministry agents a few times. Their route kept changing due to their attempts in avoiding everyone and every_thing_. Especially a monster.

"Albus, are we almost there?" asked Ronnie as they reached a fork in the corridor that separated it into two ways.

"Yeah, there are ministry agents through this way, and the other," explained Albus. "Bella?"

"I'm not scared of her. Let's go down this way," ordered Ronnie as she grabbed her two friends.

Just as the map promised, they ran into Bella along with her two followers Isabella and Patricia.

"And where do you think you're going, Gryffindors?" asked Bella slyly.

"None of your business," argued Ronnie. "Now get out of our way."

"Hm, I don't think so," replied Bella. "Don't want to get in trouble, do we?"

"And how exactly are you out here?" spat Alex.

"The agents just seemed to let us out," said Bella. "Couldn't say no."

"Oh, shut up!" yelled Ronnie. "Petrificus Totalus!"

Ronnie used the spell three times to put all three girls in a full body bind. They all collapsed to the floor looking like planks.

"Not so tough now, are we, Lestrange?" gloated Ronnie as she stood over Bella. "Let's go."

The trio ran while checking over the map at every turn. They finally reached the statue that only Albus had witnessed, yet, instead of in the middle of the room, it was moved over to the right side and there was a huge hole a bit smaller than the statue in the middle of the room. More dirt surrounded it this time around.

"I guess we know where Slughorn went," said Albus. "Now what? Do we get McGonagall?"

"For what? So we can be even further behind?" argued Ronnie. "Let's go!" she yelled as she jumped into the hole.

"Are you okay?" Alex yelled into the hole.

"Yeah, come down! It's not that big of a jump."

Alex closed his eyes and jumped in as well. He yelled as he went down but that only lasted a second.

"Albus, hurry up!" the two urged.

"Fine! I'm coming," answered Albus as he too jumped into the hole. It took him a second to feel the ground again, and when he looked around there was only a path lit up by torches.

"Check the map. Where are we?" instructed Alex.

"I can't find us," answered Albus in disbelief. "We're not on the map."

"What a big help that's been," spat Ronnie. "Let's just follow the path, there's no going back now."

Albus, Ronnie and Alex cautiously followed the path. There was a variety of foot prints, both human and animal, which went back and forth the path.

They heard a screech.

"What was that?" Ronnie hissed. "Run!"

The trio ran and ran until they reached the end of the path, running away from whatever made that noise.

_We're dead,_ thought Albus.

At the end of the path, there was a ladder made of wood which led up to another hole. This one was covered by a huge rock.

"We can't get out!" yelled Albus.

"_Spongify_!" screamed Alex pointing his wand at the rock. "Albus! Push!"

The rock then flew over by a small push from Albus. It seemed that Ronnie was a good teacher showing Alex how to use the charm correctly.

The three friends climbed out of the hole and tried to catch their breaths. When they finally did, they realized they were in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

"Why did the path lead here?" asked Alex.

"Wait! Something's coming out of the hole!" Ronnie shrieked.

Then, a red bird flew out of the hole accompanied by a Hufflepuff girl with shoulder length brown curly hair. She wore glasses and had a Native American styled bag. When she got up, she was a lot taller than the trio.

"Who are you?" asked Ronnie.

"My name is Serena Churchill," she said in a nervous voice. "Why are you first years out here?"

"Why are _you_ here? No matter what year you are?" answered Ronnie.

"I'm a sixth year," answered Serena. "My Phoenix Fireheart led me here."

"Wait. So your Professor Churchill's daughter?" asked Alex.

"Yes, I am."

"I've seen you before," muttered Albus as he reminisced about the unknown girl who ran into Churchill's room before he could listen to take away Albus' detention as well.

"Listen, I've got a bad feeling about all of this and I need you three to -" started Serena.

"We aren't going anywhere," interrupted Ronnie.

"But someone needs to alert the headmistress," insisted Serena.

"Then it'll have to be you," said Alex. "I need to catch the guy who hurt my friend."

"Fine," agreed Serena. "But take Fireheart with you. He'll protect you."

"Alright," said Alex.

Albus wasn't sure what was going on, but they now had a phoenix with them, looking for their previously missing Professor and Webster.

_Had they teamed up to attack the students?_ thought Albus.

The trio followed foot prints along with Fireheart who also seemed to know where he was going regardless of the path. The forest was quiet and dark.

"_Lumos_" said Alex. The two friends then did the same.

As they walked further along the path, they reached an opening. The forest got thinner and thinner until they reached a mountain, and right in front of them was the opening to a cave.

"What's this?" asked Albus as he picked up something on the ground. It was one of Hagrid's lanterns; this one was the one he lost. It was broken. Albus fixed it with a muttered "_Reparo._"

The trio approached the cave opening and Fireheart began to sing into the cave.

"What does this mean?" asked Ronnie.

"I don't know," said Albus. "But I guess we're about to find out."


	17. Through the Dark

A similar tune to Fireheart's singing was echoing out of the cave. The beautiful notes lessened the suspense that Albus was feeling. But the suspense was still real.

Before, the trees had hugged the land and it'd hidden you from any danger. Here though, it was an open plain, open to being found.

"Fireheart's trying to get us to go inside," said Albus.

"But should we?" asked Alex. "Serena Churchill said she'd get McGonagall."

"You're the one who brought us here," reminded Albus. "We have enough light, especially with this lantern."

Albus took a few steps into the cave, and the two friends followed. There was a clear path and many scratches along the walls. Other than the illumination coming from their wands and lantern, it was pitch black.

"Here, put this in your bag," said Albus giving Alex the Marauders Map. "It won't help us here."

"Alright," agreed Alex.

There was a sudden screech, the same screech Albus heard the night Taylor Jones was attacked.

"The monster is here," Albus breathed. "It's hiding in this cave."

"Let's go back," mumbled Alex. "We came to find Webster not a-"

"Webster must be with the monster. He must control it."

"That can't be right," speculated Ronnie.

"How do you know?" questioned Albus. "He came all the way out here with Slughorn. They've been working together to take out all these students!"

"I highly doubt that," said Ronnie. "Or at least I hope that's not what's been going on."

"I have no doubt Webster is somehow behind all this," said Alex regaining the anger in his voice.

Fireheart sang a few notes and waited for something to be sung in return. Instead, what they heard was a mixture of shrieks coming from deep within the cave. Fireheart then began to tug at Albus' shirt to go forward.

"He wants us to keep going," said Albus. "I think we should. We can do this together."

A loud scream yelling for help rang in Albus' ears, this time coming from a man.

"Professor Slughorn!" gasped Alex.

"Hurry up! We need to help the poor man! I told you he wasn't behind this!" yelled Ronnie as she grabbed Albus and ran, while Alex followed.

After running a bit she came to an abrupt halt, and Albus noticed there were three paths to choose from. This time, the map wouldn't help him choose the right one.

"What do we do now?" enquired Alex.

"We definitely can't split up," said Albus. "That's for sure."

Fireheart sang again, yet this time nothing could be heard in return, not even a shriek. Nothing.

"Look, the floor," Alex pointed out.

There was the same herd of foot prints that Albus and Ronnie saw on the day of their detention.

"Here's proof that the monster was what fought the Blast-Ended Skrewt," declared Albus.

"This has to be the path then," said Ronnie.

They decided to follow the path with the footprints but, before they went on, something occurred to Albus.

"Alex, what was the spell you used to burn the note to Bella in the beginning of the year?"

"You mean _Incendio_?" Alex replied.

"Right."

Albus approached the wall next to the path they were taking and used the incantation. He moved his wand and the fire in the shape of his signature "A".

"This way, McGonagall and Serena will know which way to go," informed Albus and the trio continued along the path.

Slowly, they kept walking with Fireheart by their side until they reached an end. The path continued along the other side of a river which was yards below what could be a smaller version of a cliff. The continuation of the path was too far away to be jumped.

"Alright. So what now?" sighed Ronnie.

Albus looked around. There wasn't a current so the water was still, but huge spiked rocks were awaiting any diver down below.

"Maybe we could try to levitate each other," suggested Alex.

"I don't think we'll be able to hold on that long," rejected Albus. "Great. We're stuck."

Fireheart proceeded and grabbed Albus by the back of his collar and picked him up. They flew over the river and landed on the other side. It all happened so quickly that Albus didn't even know what was going on until he landed on his feet again.

"Wow!" called out Ronnie. "I didn't know a phoenix would be that strong!"

"Me neither," exclaimed Albus in shock. "Fireheart, please bring my friends as well."

Fireheart flew over and picked up Ronnie, brought her over, then did Alex.

"That was a lot simpler than I thought it'd be," said Alex.

"I wonder what else this cave has got in store for us," muttered Ronnie.

_I'm afraid to find out,_ thought Albus, yet he knew he had to go on. He was honestly surprised he had gotten this far and was actually proud of himself.

"Let's go then," he said and they continued along the path.

Albus walked in front of his friends feeling brave and that he needed to protect them. He had numerous dreams of these moments and now was the time to prove that he could take on this monster. He wouldn't let it take hold of his friends like it did in his dreams.

The floor started getting sticky, and it became harder to walk on. Albus illuminated the floor by his feet and noticed it was coated in green goo.

"Yuck! What is this?" complained Albus.

"Oh my gosh!" yelled Ronnie, with her wand pointing at a squashed spider on the wall. This spider was at least as big as them, but was surely dead.

"We aren't the first to roam through here," guessed Alex.

"Well, other than that, there _is_ the monster," reminded Ronnie.

_The monster,_ thought Albus. If it was anything like in his dreams, he had no idea how he was going to face it. With or without his friends, he stood no chance. They were still just beginners in magic.

Another dead spider was lying on the floor, completely squashed, a few feet away.

"This is disgusting," he groaned.

"At least they are dead," shrugged Alex.

However, it seemed that one wasn't. An opening in the wall revealed four red eyes staring right at Albus. Albus raised his wand at the ready.

_Don't freak out, don't freak out,_ he repeated to himself.

The spider suddenly ran out of the hole and, immediately, Ronnie started sending spells along with Alex; the two kept missing. Albus stood there shocked, and the spider ran off.

"I'm starting to think we should have stayed in the common room," panted Ronnie.

"We're doing this to find out what Webster and that monster did to Johnny!" reminded Alex. "Let's keep going."

Albus wasn't sure what he was going to encounter, and he had honestly hoped McGonagall would have caught up to them by now.

He pointed his wand forward to illuminate the darkness in front of them, only to see that they really had no idea where they were going.

"What if we've gone the wrong way? We haven't heard anything for a while now," he considered.

"You can still see some footprints now and then in muddy parts of this cave. This has to be the way," Alex pointed out.

"Alright. Then, let's keep going."

As they kept walking along the path, the cave walls began to spread apart. The path became wider and the dirt was wet.

"At least this time, the floor isn't wet because of spider goo," giggled Ronnie.

"Thankfully," replied Albus. "Just a bit of water. But from where?"

Another shriek escaped from deep within the cave and echoed over the walls. This time, it was Webster who was screaming for help.

"I told you this was the right way!" yelled Alex and he then started running towards the cries. "But why is Webster yelling-"

All of a sudden, Alex's feet started sinking into the ground, followed by his legs. His body was slowly but surely disappearing into the ground.

"Help!" screamed Alex. "Do something! Ugh, I don't know any spells for quick sand!"

"_Immobulus!_" exclaimed Ronnie.

Ronnie wasn't pointing the wand at Alex, but at the quick sand surrounding him. Alex suddenly stopped moving, and then was able to pick himself out of the quicksand as if climbing out of a hole.

"Brilliant, Ronnie!" Albus congratulated.

"I just panicked," confessed Ronnie. "Glad it worked."

"Wait, is that a door?" asked Albus as he looked ahead the path. There was a radiant red door with a gold knob. There were scratches over it, but it still looked pretty impressive. One torch was set on each side next to it.

"I didn't expect the monster to live in a house," said Alex. "This is really weird."

"I guess we're here," mumbled Ronnie as she stepped up and turned the knob, yet the door didn't open. "Never mind, then."

Suddenly, the floor was flooding with water. The source of it, Albus couldn't see, but the water was rising fast.

"Look! Up there!" Alex signalled. There was a small hole on the cave ceiling only a few feet wide.

The water was now up to their waists and quickly rising.

"We all need to be directly below this hole close together," ordered Albus and they all did so. "Fireheart go up through the hole and wait for us there."

Fireheart flew up hesitantly, and the water was now up to Albus' chin. If there wasn't anything at the end of this hole, then they were all going to drown.

_But there has to be,_ Albus thought. _There has to be. _

The water lifted them up, and they now had to swim in order not to fall behind. They raised up through the hole and they could see Fireheart waiting for them at the end of it. The hole wasn't too small for Albus, Ronnie and Alex to fit into but all at the same time made it uncomfortable.

As the water reached the end of the hole, it stopped flowing. Albus climbed out of it and so did Alex and Ronnie. They were all dirty, muddy, and wet.

"Well that sure was something," said Ronnie.

Fireheart began to sing his tune, and still nothing was sung back in return. There was a big opening ahead of the trio and Albus feared that they found what they were looking for.

"What is taking McGonagall so long," Albus complained. "Should we just wait here for her?"

"We didn't plan on having her with us in the first place," argued Alex.

"We didn't plan on finding a monster either," added Ronnie.

Fireheart started tugging at each of their shirts to pull them forward.

"I think we'll be safe as long as we're with him," comforted Alex.

As they reached the end of the path, it continued below with a slope that hanged off the walls all around the cave until it reached the ground. They were at the top of the inner cave which was humongous. There were various openings all around the walls just like what they were standing at.

Down below were streams of water surrounding one huge lake. It glittered and flowed into subsections that surrounded the rest of the inner cave. Next to it was Professor Slughorn, occupied with test tubes and potions, and next to him was the monster.

It was a big purple creature with a wolf's head, and had four legs, two were bears paws, and two were hooves. It had a reptile tail and a pair of oversized bat wings. It turned on the trio quickly and screeched. Jake Webster was lying near it unconscious next to the lake.

That's when it occurred to Albus where they were.

The Healing Springs.


	18. The Disguise

It truly was an extraordinary sight to see. What Albus had lost hope in finding was now right in front of him. He knew that this place _had _to be the Healing Springs.

"I can't believe we've found it!" exclaimed Albus.

"You think this is-" started Ronnie.

"It has to be," he interrupted. "This is the Healing Springs!"

"But I thought you said Dumbledore denied he made it," reminded Alex.

"Then, I guess he didn't have a part in it," retorted Albus.

"But the books," insisted Alex. "They said it was discovered by the Dumbledores."

"I guess Albus Dumbledore never knew of it, and Aberforth did," argued Albus. "Clearly, this is it right in front of us. It doesn't matter what the books said!"

Their conversation was cut short by the Monster's loud screeching. It had slow violent movement and was focused on Professor Slughorn. Professor Slughorn was moving quickly, hopping on some stones in the lake to get to the fountain.

The fountain directly in the center of the lake was spewing out water consistently. The actual spring looked quite formed but was made out of rock. Professor Slughorn seemed to be taking samples of it in a cauldron. The lake was connected to twelve subsections with led to puddles_._

"Okay. Stay calm," Ronnie sighed, exasperated. "We need to leave."

"No, we can't!" argued Alex. "We have to get some of the water. What about Johnny?!"

"Johnny won't be able to get it anyways if the Monster eats you alive!" replied Ronnie.

She pushed Alex and Albus back into the path along with herself, but then Fireheart soared past them into the Springs and flew towards the Monster.

The Monster started screeching and swiping at the air, but Fireheart swiftly dodged its arms.

"What do we do? I'm sure it'll come after us," whispered Alex. "What about Fireheart?"

"No one told him to fly right at that thing!" argued Ronnie. "I'm not sure there's much we can do!"

The Monster stopped swiping and curled up on the floor. It looked extremely mad, yet hurt.

"What's wrong with it?" enquired Albus.

"How am I supposed to know?" spat Ronnie. "Who cares?! Let's get out of here!"

"We can't just leave Webster here to die!" argued Albus. "He obviously isn't controlling that thing."

"He's right," Alex confessed. "Anyways, we do need this water for Johnny."

"And all the other victims," remembered Ronnie.

Suddenly, from all openings of the Springs, dozens upon dozens of phoenix's all flew into the scene. Fireheart joined them in the air and became indistinguishable.

"Now's our chance!" yelled Albus and he began to run down the slope.

With the Monster dealing with all the phoenixes in the air, Albus knew it wouldn't notice three kids running along the cave walls. There were twelve openings along the walls that coincided with the twelve puddles connected to the lake.

Albus was at the fifth opening. Ronnie and Alex were still along the third when the Monster saw them. It tried to fly, but failed.

"Get inside!" yelled Albus as he entered the opening to stay clear of the monster.

They followed his example, and the Monster started spewing fire balls from its mouth.

Albus pressed his body against the wall, hesitating as he considered following this opening and hopefully leave this place.

_Wimp, _he called himself. _You can't do that! I won't. _

But he had no idea what he could do. The fire balls were barely missing the openings, so, luckily, they were safe. At least, he hoped his friends were okay since he hadn't heard any screams.

"Please, stop!" begged Professor Slughorn in a hoarse voice. "I think I've finished. Leave the kids alone."

"_Locomotor Mortis_!" yelled Alex as he pointed his wand at the Monster. Both its legs locked together and it fell to the ground.

Alex started to sprint down the slope as the Monster struggled to get back up. He slipped and slid down the rest of the slope until he made it to the bottom.

"Alex!" called Albus and Ronnie as they ran to catch up with him.

"The Monster can't walk! I'll try to get some of the water!" Alex replied.

"Be careful!" warned Ronnie as she and Albus were almost to the bottom of the slope.

Alex approached the lake opposite of where the Monster was struggling to get up. Albus and Ronnie caught up with him. Albus looked into the water. Standing where he did, he could see that the lake was very deep.

"Too bad the stones are on the other side of the lake," raged Ronnie.

"I don't know how we're going to get there," said Albus.

All the birds were still flying around the top of the cave. Every now and then one would come and try to attack the Monster, but, even with its legs locked, it could still swipe with its enormous claws.

"We need to drag Webster out of there; he's too close to the Monster," insisted Albus.

"I'm not into the idea of risking my own life for his," complained Ronnie.

"I don't think we'll have to. Look!" cried Alex as he pointed back at the opening of the cave from which they came from.

Professor McGonagall was walking in and immediately wrapped the Monster in a ton of ropes, but it broke free quickly and grabbed the cauldron Slughorn made and drank it.

While Albus was waiting to see the change on the beast, McGonagall made her way down.

"Horace, what are you doing here?!" questioned McGonagall. "I would have never suspected you."

"Minerva, it wasn't my fault!" he pleaded. "She made me do it. She tortured me."

The Monster rose and its legs were no longer locked together. It spread its wings and covered its entire body. Suddenly, it shrank down into a woman.

_The Monster is actually a human? How could this be?_ Albus thought.

"I should've known you'd come ruin everything," said the woman as she stood up. She had long gray hair with hints of blonde. Her robes were dirty and ripped. Her pale skin looked rough as she attempted to smile.

"I - I thought you were dead," McGonagall gasped.

"Who is she, Minerva?" questioned Professor Slughorn.

"I am Leah Scalamay," she laughed. "I've been searching for the Dark Lord. You might remember me. I tried to kill you back in 1998."

"A death eater?!"

"Of course," continued Scalamay. "I became an animagus to hide from the ministry. I succeeded to an extent. My form may be horrendous but very helpful indeed. If it weren't for my animagus form, I would have never been freed from the Acontium Minotaurus I ran into. I would have never been able to take hold of this."

She pulled out a red gem from her robes and Professor Slughorn sank to the ground and began to yell.

"No more of this!" McGonagall yelled as she sent Scalamay across the room with a disarming spell. "Why did you attack my students?!"

"To distract you, of course! They were no use to me. I just needed to make sure you wouldn't spend all your time looking for Slughorn, and, in turn, finding me," confessed Scalamay. "When I attacked them, I sank my claws into them and spread the poison that was inflicted upon me by the Acontium Minotaurus!"

"You will never touch another one of my students ever again!" She yelled as she stood in front of the unconscious Webster for his protection.

"I will not be made a fool anymore!" raged Scalamay as she pulled out her wand and sent numerous curses.

"Why are you here?!" fumed McGonagall while deflecting everything Scalamay threw at her.

"I needed to be healed of course. After all my travelling looking for the Dark Lord I became very informed of legends. More than of just these springs!" recounted Scalamay. "Along the way I found this gem, one of three, but it didn't come without a cost."

Albus pulled Ronnie and Alex to the ground. Professor Slughorn was running up the slope attempting to escape, leaving all his things behind, including the cauldron.

"We need to get the water, and go!" demanded Albus. "We can't stay here."

"We can hardly move without being cursed!" argued Ronnie.

"Wait. What happened to all the phoenixes?" questioned Albus as he looked to the ceiling. "There are only two left."

"Fireheart!" yelled Alex, and Fireheart flew down to them weary of all the spells being thrown around by McGonagall and Scalamay. "Go grab Webster and take him to safety!"

Fireheart obeyed the orders and grabbed Webster from behind McGonagall and quickly flew out of the cave. Professor Slughorn was long gone, and only Scalamay, McGonagall, the trio, and the remaining phoenix flying high above remained.

"Alex, do you have anything to put the water in?" asked Albus. "Is there anything in your bag?"

"Yes, I have some tubes to put it in," he answered. "Do you think the lake has the healing powers?"

"Nope, there has to be a reason she waited for Slughorn to finish his potion. Otherwise she would have just jumped in the lake herself."

Albus couldn't figure out why the water didn't work for Scalamay, but he wasn't going to take the risk that it might not work for them either.

"Accio!" yelled Albus pointing his wand at the cauldron so it'd fly over to him. It was only a quarter full after the monster form of Scalamay drank so much.

"So this is a mixture of a potion and the healing water?" asked Alex. "I hope it works."

"Well, it worked for her," Ronnie reminded.

The last phoenix in the cave flew towards the trio and cried into the cauldron. The potion was a pale blue but it then turned completely clear.

"Oh, no! Fireheart!" Albus whined. "Do you still think it will work?"

"I think it will work better! Phoenix tears have healing properties," Alex explained.

He quickly filled up five of his test tubes with the potion, and just in time because Scalamay then began to throw spells at them.

"Children! Run!" yelled McGonagall.

"No! No one else will leave! I will not be captured!" shrieked Scalamay as she threw spells up above to the cave ceiling.

The phoenix flew over McGonagall, and all she said was "Fawkes!" before she had to make a shield around her and the phoenix, and they became piled by rocks.

Albus, Ronnie and Alex each jumped into one of the small puddle shaped holes at the ends of the cave as huge rocks came hurtling down.

For a second, everything was dark. When Albus opened his eyes, he saw his two friends a few yards away from him. The hole from which he jumped in was now covered by a rock.

He swam over to his friends and noticed all the surrounding holes were either covered by rocks or rocks were falling into them. The middle of the dark pool was a huge opening which above looked like its own lake, and all the connections of the lake and the puddles were either being covered or were spilling in rocks.

The rock formed fountain was being held up by a huge pillar alongside which were five other pillars that looked to Albus like floating stones.

Alex blasted a hole into the surface above their heads for them to catch their breaths, but they couldn't stay above the surface for too long for rocks were still hurtling down at them from up above.

Suddenly, all the noise stopped and the trio swam over to the lake opening as quickly as possible.

As Albus gasped for air once again, he noticed that McGonagall was free from under the rocks and Fawkes came and grabbed Albus whom Ronnie and Alex then held onto. The trio was flown out of the cave through a different opening from which they came as McGongall followed them.

Leah Scalamay was nowhere to be found.

Five test tubes full of healing water and four victims of Scalamay. Two tubes were sent to St. Mungos for Taylor Jones and Johnny, while Madame Pomfrey used one to cure Webster.

"I'll save one just in case we need it in the future," Alex whispered to his friends as he hid the last test tube. "And we need to get this last one to Hagrid for the Blast-Ended Skrewt."

"Potter, Cambridge, Greenfield, come with me, please," ordered McGonagall as she led the trio out of the hospital wing and to her office.

What was at first unknown corridors to Albus so many months ago were now familiar to him. He made his way past the statue of Fawkes, which was now being fixed and cleaned by Filch, and arrived at McGonagall's office with his friends.

"The Lost Diadem," said McGonagall and the gargoyle revolved itself into a staircase.

Upstairs, waiting in her office, was Albus' family. As soon as the door opened, he felt the embrace of his father's arms.

"Dad, you can let go, I'm fine," Albus insisted.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of," groaned Dad. "Why did you get yourself into that mess?"

"Because bravery is in my blood," replied Albus with a smile. He then hugged his mother who was in tears.

"Your families have been notified as well," informed McGonagall to Alex and Ronnie. "You're all just lucky to be alive."

"I'm glad to be alive," giggled Ronnie.

"But wait, Professor," started Albus. "I don't fully understand what happened."

"Well, Potter, Leah Scalamay used to work for Voldemort. She said she was searching for him since his downfall, and that was many, many years ago," she recounted. "She evidently became an animagus and ran into Acontium Minotaurus, which are poisonous vines. They drain your magic from your peak, which means the highest level of magic you possess, until it is all gone and you die. That's why she's been able to hold out for so long with the poison while Jones and Willingham have not. Unfortunately, she's cured now, and who knows where she's gone. Also that gem she had, I have no idea what it was."

"And the Healing Springs?"

"Destroyed. Probably for the better, right, Albus?" McGonagall opinionated while walking towards the paintings of Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.

"Precisely, Minerva," Dumbledore replied.

"But Dumbledore," started Albus. "You told me you didn't discover the Healing Springs."

"Yes, and that was nothing but the truth," he responded. "However, my phoenix, Fawkes, seemed to have created The Springs shortly after my death. Inhabiting the cave with phoenix's and contaminating the water with their healing tears, the water became more than natural, if you will. Sure enough, Fawkes shared this place with my brother whom sadly couldn't keep it a secret for long."

"But the water didn't work," said Albus. "Professor Slughorn had to make a potion in order for it."

"Water, too, becomes old, and their healing powers won't last so long in it. Horace was smart enough to make a healing potion and combine it with the water from the springs. But without help from one of the phoenix's the potion wouldn't be as strong as it was made for you," started Dumbledore. "I was informed that Scalamay drank his potion and was cured of her poison. However, she is not completely healed as she may think. The reason the potion from Mr. Greenfield's test tubes will work completely is because they have been purified by Fawkes."

"Such a good thing they were," replied Albus. "We wouldn't have even made it through the streams if it wasn't for Serena Churchill's phoenix, Fireheart."

"Oh yes, she is the one who came to me and led me to the springs. So many people tried to play the hero tonight, so unfortunate that one actually got hurt," added McGonagall.

"We're all fine, Professor," assured Ronnie.

"It's none of you, Cambridge," spat McGonagall. "We mustn't forget about Jake Webster."

"Wait. What was he doing there?" questioned Albus. "I still don't understand that."

"The same as you, I suppose," said McGonagall. "Hagrid came to me about your assumptions, and I now have put together that he simply wanted to save the day as well."

"Hagrid! I forgot," exclaimed Albus. "We need to go see Hagrid before it's too late."

Albus, Ronnie and Alex ran out of the office ignoring the protests from all the adults. There was absolutely no one in the hallways, especially no monster. But just in case, Albus took out his marauders map from Alex's bag to stay clear of anyone on their way to Hagrid's hut.

They sprinted down the hill and knocked obnoxiously on his door until he finally opened up.

"Oh Albus," he said. "Nice to see yer okay."

"Hagrid, we've brought some healing water for your Blast Ended-Skrewt."

"Thank you!" he said excitedly while scurrying them into his hut. "He's over here."

Alex took a vile from his bag and poured the water into the creature's mouth. Almost immediately, it started to animatedly move and the trio backed away. Hagrid hugged the creature and started crying tears of joy.

"Yer wonderful. Wonderful!" Hagrid cried.

"It's no problem Hagrid," said Albus, "and I'm sorry about before. I hope we can forget that ever happened."

"Of cours' we can Albus," replied Hagrid as he hugged Albus tightly. "Thanks to you guys as well."

It was a big group hug, and Albus felt at peace. After all the commotion, all the mystery, finally came solutions, finally came relief. The hug was interrupted by McGonagall who came to tell Alex and Ronnie that their families were on their way.

"Let's go back to the common room," suggested Ronnie. "I need SLEEP!"

"Same," laughed Alex.

When they got to their common room, the door was being blocked off by five ministry agents who were wide awake unlike the one the trio encountered on their way out. Even James was being kept under control now that mum was sitting with him on a couch.

"Guess you aren't that much of a loser after all," James joked when Albus came over to him. "I'm still better than you though."

"Yeah, sure," Albus laughed off. "When was the last you time _you_ faced a monster?"

"Alright, I'll give you that," he started. "But I heard she was actually an old lady anyways."

The two laughed and Albus made his way to his dormitory along with Alex. Unlike anyone expected, Albus genuinely wanted to sleep. Even after such an exciting night, he was sure to fall asleep quickly.

He hoped for no more nightmares.

Months passed by, and all of Hogwarts was finally at peace. Johnny came back from St. Mungos happy and healthy, as did Taylor Jones. Professor Slughorn was able to finally meet what was supposed to be his new students, but he left right away because he desperately needed rest. He didn't hesitate to announce that he would not be returning to Hogwarts the following year. He did return to Hogwarts for the end of year feast to congratulate Albus, Ronnie, and Alex during the speeches for them.

"This has truly been an eventful school year. It's been quite a while since anything like this has happened, but we are so happy to announce that because of Albus Potter, Veronica Cambridge, and Alex Greenfield, there will be no need for any ministry agents to be patrolling the halls any more," announced McGonagall, followed by claps from all around the great hall.

"I too would like to say something," Slughorn blurted out as he stood up from his seat. "Just a big thank you to those courageous children. Without them, who knows if I would even be here right now. Thank you."

The claps became even louder for them, and people were patting Albus' back from all around. His friends were getting the same treatment.

"Now let's move on to the matter of the house cup," announced McGonagall. "The winners of the house cup this year are..."

She then waved her arms and all the banners around the room changed themselves into a navy blue with eagles as the emblem. Ravenclaw won the house cup this year.

_Rose must be so glad she isn't in Gryffindor now, _Albus thought. _But I'm still content with how things are right now_.

After everyone was done cheering for the Ravenclaw's, even if through disappointment, everyone enjoyed the feast and got ready to make their ways to the Hogwarts express.

Heading out of the Great Hall, they met up with Johnny since he'll be sitting with them this time around. Fortunately, Johnny didn't act any differently. Even after the bad events, he still had fun with the trio whenever they could. Although, a month prior, Alex insisted that they all spend their time studying. Right after he came back from St. Mungos, the four friends all had to go to their favorite spot in the courtyard so Johnny could tell them all about his time at the hospital. He was also eager to hear of their adventure.

Ronnie was sure to remind her friends that she expected a letter every single week. Alex was ecstatic of the idea, and Albus knew he would have to borrow his grandparents' owl a lot more.

Albus expected the last day of school at Hogwarts to be sad, but he didn't feel sad at all. He did much more in his first year than he could have ever expected. Other than passing all his exams, even with a terrible potions professor, he was able to be a part of solving a mystery and saving innocent people. Saving those that he cared about.

He couldn't wait to return to it in September, but he knew he had a great summer ahead of him with more time to bond with his reconnected family. They'll be closer than ever.

Since the event of the Healing Springs, everyone in school was congratulating him, Ronnie, and Alex. There was no exception for it on their last day, especially with the announcements just made. It felt different for Albus, and it only reminded him of what his dad must have felt like. They weren't treated differently by Bella and her friends though, being scolded for how Ronnie attacked them back on the night they found the springs. It didn't matter though, Albus was trying to stay away from her.

Finally boarding the Hogwarts Express once again didn't upset Albus. He would be coming back soon, to continue his adventures with Ronnie and Alex. But this time he hoped he wouldn't get into anything dangerous, just more fun times.

"I wonder what next year will be like," said Alex.

"Maybe normal," commented Albus. "But probably not."

"Have your dreams been getting any better?" Johnny asked.

"I still have some here and there," said Albus. "About Scalamay, it's always the same dream. She's meeting some man, but I don't know who he is."

"Well no matter what, we'll always be here to help you kick her arse!" said Ronnie excitedly almost jumping out of her compartment seat.

Albus knew she was right. He made best friends he knew would always be by his side.

Alex, the boy who didn't give up; no matter what came in his way, he always had a clear path in front of him that he knew he needed to pursue. Even when Albus himself stood in his way, he tried to come past that. He researched and kept the trio's friendship together even when it was withering away.

Ronnie, the voice; so many limits were thrown at her and she didn't stop. Whether it was Quidditch or Bella, Ronnie found a way to stomp through everything to get where she wanted to be. She used her voice to help, and defend the people she cared for. Even if you thought Ronnie was annoying, there was no denying that you were always going to hear what she had to say.

Albus was able to find out who he truly was as well. Albus, the boy who made his _own_ legacy; he was able to be a part of saving the day, and overcoming all his fears. He became brave. He became noble. He experienced what he could have never even imagined.

_I guess the sorting hat was right_, he thought. _There is so much buried within me, that even I can't see right now_.

_I shall be great._


End file.
